Down the Fox Hole
by bloodmoon13
Summary: The night Rin awakened was also the night he ran away after being told the truth and somehow ends up hiding from everyone and everything he had ever known. What better place to disappear and forget his old life than in the land of Inari and Fox Alley where he lands a job as the new groundskeeper for the Old Inari Shrine.
1. Prologue

**Down the Fox Hole**

 **AU Story:** _ **The night Rin awakened was also the night he ran away after being told the truth and somehow ends up hiding from everyone and everything he had ever known. What better place to disappear and forget his old life then in the land of Inari and Fox Alley where he lands a job as the new groundskeeper for the Old Inari Shrine.**_

* * *

 **Down the Fox Hole**

 **Prologue**

" _The worst thing about being lied to is knowing you weren't worth the truth."_

― _**Turcois Ominek**_

* * *

"… _You are, the child of Satan…"_

Those words kept repeating over and over again in Rin's head, like a broke record, it wouldn't stop. He wasn't even sure when they had reached the monastery, Rin had only broken out of his stupor when Father Fujimoto shoved a duffel bag into his arms, but even then he still couldn't do anything more but just look at his adoptive father in shock. He didn't protest as he was dragged back to the church on the grounds and taken down a set of stairs that he had never even known existed!

This was just too much for the fifteen-year-old teen to take in at once. First he gets into a fight and almost has his eyes gouged out, then he bursts into blue flames, some creepy punk with horns and a tail calls him his _'young lord_ ', and now suddenly everyone in the monastery where he had grown up are suddenly mobilizing like some elite military unit. He had even seen one of the priests pull out several _guns_!

And now Father Fujimoto was holding out to him, a katana in a beautifully crafted sheath. Even before Rin touched it he could sense that there was something special about the sword.

As Fujimoto explained the significance of the sword one thought crossed Rin mind.

"If I'm supposed to be some kind of demon then what about Yukio? Don't tell me he's one!" Rin could not stand the thought of his younger brother carrying the same curse that he did.

"You and Yukio may be twins but Yukio was too weak in the womb to sustain the power," Father Fujimoto explained. "Only you inherited these demonic powers."

Rin stood stunned for a moment before finally asking what had been weighing in the back of his mind since they had returned to the monastery. "Did everyone know about this, that I'm not human? That I'm the spawn of the Devil?!" There was no way for Rin to mask the hurt in his voice, the way his face had become ashen, or that his hands were shaking.

Fujimoto Shiro could plainly see that his eldest child was hurting; he was scared, confused, and most likely feeling his whole world crash around him. As much as he wanted to comfort Rin and reassure him that everything was going to be all right, that everyone would protect him, now was not the time. Shiro did not doubt for a second that demons from all over had already sensed Rin's awakening and that they were on their way, if they were not already at the monastery's gates. They were short on time as it was. It truly had been rotten luck for the King of Rot himself to be the one to find Rin first, a Hell King who reported directly to Satan himself. They needed to get Rin to a safer and more secure location before the barriers and wards around the monastery gave out. The wards may be strong enough withstand a heavy onslaught of low to mid-level demons but they were not strong enough to hold back one of the Eight Demon Kings of Hell.

Shiro grabbed Rin by his upper arm and hauled him back up the stairs. "Now is not the time for questions." There was no room in his tone for argument. It was an order. "Nagatomo, is the car ready?"

"Yes, Father Fujimoto. Kyodo is waiting for you." The priest said, following the brisk pace as Shiro all but dragged Rin out of the church and towards the garage.

"Good." Shiro nodded.

"But wait—!" Rin's protest died in his lips as the ground shook and he looked behind him in horror to see a large black mass with hellish glowing green eyes ramming repeatedly against some invisible force field at the monastery's gates. Even he could see that there were cracks starting to appear in the defense, and that whatever was keeping the demons out was not going to last much longer.

He was brought out of his hesitation as Shiro practically threw him, along with the duffel and sword onto the backseat of one of the two old cars the monastery owned. Shiro quickly got into the front passenger seat.

"Step on it!" He barked at Kyodo.

Not needing to be told twice, Kyodo slammed his foot onto the gas peddle and with a great screech from the tires, they sped off at a speed that Rin would have never thought in a million years that the old piece of junk was capable of. A few harsh turns had Rin jostled about roughly in the back as they sped through the graveyard that was right behind the main church building. Rin righted himself and glanced back through the rear view window of the car just to look on in horror as the black mass from before had broken through and was now descending upon his home.

"What about the others?!" Rin asked, genuinely concerned for their safety. How were they supposed to fight _that?!_

"Don't worry,"Shiro said, double-checking the ammunition in his shotgun. "They'll be right behind us soon enough." He flipped the barrel back into place with a click and then stuck the gun and his arm out the window.

" _Lookout!"_ Rin cried out, as a new mass of black and glowing green eyes was quickly forming in front of the car's path.

 _ **BANG!**_

With deadly accuracy, Shiro had casually shot down the obstacle obstructing their escape route and continued to do so as more and more black masses seemed to be rising up from the ground or even forming midair. Before the stunned teen had the chance to even think of a coherent sentence he was thrown back against the car side as Kyodo jerked harshly to the right and drove right through a set of locked gates and onto the asphalt of the city. Behind them was another screech of tires as the other monastery car came rushing behind them with Izumi at the wheel and Nagatomo and Maruta in the back passenger seats.

The sped through the streets and it didn't take long for them to reach the outskirts of the city.

"Take the next right, it will take us straight to Kosaten* Passage." Shiro instructed.

"Yes, Father Fujimoto."

"Once there, we'll head to the safe house there and set up the barriers."

' _Safe house, barriers…? What the hell is going on…?'_ Rin's head are spinning as everything began catching up to him and repeating over and over again in a swirling mess of pictures that no matter how he tried to make sense of everything, he just could not wrap his mind around. Everything had happened so fast and now he was in a car with people he thought he had known his entire life heading towards who knows where. All that Rin could be certain of was that everything had changed.

Rin glanced up from his lap to look at his adoptive father. He had never seen Shiro with such a serious, cold, and authoritative expression before. Gone was his stupid grin and the warmth in his eyes. Instead of the man who had raised him since infancy, there sat a stranger who resembled an experience war hawk more than a priest.

It terrified Rin.

Finally Rin found his voice. "Old man, where are we going?"

Shiro didn't respond at first but then answered in a stoic tone. "Somewhere safe…"

Anger swelled in the teenager from such a vague answer. " _That doesn't—ARGH!"_

Rin was slammed roughly to the side of the car as Kyodo slammed on the brakes and swerved harshly to avoid crashing into another large demonic black mass that had suddenly sprouted in the middle of the road.

" _Damn it!"_ Shiro cursed outloud. "They found us already! How much further to the safe house?!"

"Not much further!" Kyodo responded as swerved again to avoid another demon blocking their path.

"Step on it then! The sooner we get there the better." Shiro was already loading another round of bullets into his gun, unfazed by the car's harsh movements as it gained even more speed and was practically flying on the asphalt. The road soon gave way to dirt as they left the main road and onto a more secluded path. _"There!"_ Shiro pointed to a clearing where a lone old church stood. "Good, we made it." He sighed in relief. "Now we just have to—"

Shiro did not get a chance to finish his sentence as the car was suddenly rammed from the side hard enough to flip it over several times before finally stopping, amazingly, upright. All of the passengers in the car groaned from being tossed around so harshly. Shiro glanced over at Kyodo. It seemed he had only suffered a few minor injuries that were bleeding a bit, but otherwise he was fine. Shiro then looked in the back to see that Rin was also fine, groaning and cursing at the new bruises and cuts on his body.

Shiro opened the passenger door and stepped out, gun cocked and ready to be fire, surveying the area for any movement. There did not seem to be anything in the forest, but the experience exorcist was not fooled. The forest was far to silent for his liking, there was a faint smell of decay in the air, and every instinct in Shiro's body was screaming at him to keep his guard up and gun at the ready.

There was something out there that caused their car to veer off course, and he did not like it.

Not one bit.

Behind him both Kyodo and Rin got out of the car.

Rin rubbed his aching head. There was definitely a bruise forming there along with a small cut right over his eyebrow that was now bleeding thanks to having had hit the car roof several times during their tumble In his other hand he still had his bag and the weird sword, he did not know why he was still carrying the thing. He looked up and saw his foster father on the other side of the car. Gun raised and standing still, like a predator ready to pounce. He looked over and saw that Kyodo was also tensed up. He had even unwrapped his hands—something that Rin could not recalled ever happening before—but now he could plainly see the strange tattoos that the monk bore as he stood there in a boxing position ready to fight.

There was a strange silence in the air that raised all of the hairs on the back of Rin's neck, his fight or flight instincts was screaming like a siren in his brain that there was something dangerous out there, he just didn't know what. There was a faint smell of rot and death in the air that was slowly growing stronger with each passing second. Rin lifted his arm up to shield his sensitive nose from the stench.

"Rin…"

The teen's attention was suddenly turned to his foster father's back.

"Get behind us and stay there."

Rin's confusion over the whole situation came back full force, "What's going on old man?"

"Now is not the time," Shiro responded, completely dodging the question. "Just do as you are told."

Anger swelled within Rin's chest. He was bruised and tired of not knowing what the hell was going on. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the woods.

A familiar bleach white haired teen stepped into view, same clothes and piercings as earlier when he had confronted Rin with his gang. Shiratori Reiji stepped out of the shadows but it wasn't the same delinquent that Rin usually beat up, there were ram-like horns coming out of the side of his head, a black tail swishing lazily behind him, clawed hands swinging casually as he walked towards them, stopping just at the tree line. Behind him were disgusting looking dogs and several of the black masses with glowing green eyes that had attacked them earlier.

"I have come for the young prince." Shiratori said, but it was not his usual voice. It was much deeper and darker, with an edge to it that sent a chill down Rin's spine.

Shiro took a stepped forward, gun aimed straight at the possessed teen's heart. "You're not taking him anywhere."

The possessed teen grinned maliciously. "I believe that I am." He then extended his arm towards Rin and addressed him. "Come now, young lord, it is time for you to return to Gehenna, your father has been awaiting you."

' _My… father…?'_ Rin took an involuntary step back away from the posessed human. His view of Shiratori was blocked as Kyodo stepped in front of him to act as a human shield.

"Rin," Kyodo whispered. "Stay close…"

"But—"

Rin never got to finish his protests, as weak as they were, for the next moment a gunshot broke through the tension in the air and all of hell broke loose.

The possessed Shiratori dodged the bullet and charged straight towards Shiro as he fired round after to round from his shotgun, only to have the demon evade each one. The horde of demons that Shiratori had brought along also charged forward towards the humans. Shiro pulled out several grenades and threw them towards the advancing demons. Holy water exploding out of them and filling the air with the stench of sizzling burns at the holy water took out the first wave, making the other demons pause long enough for Shiro unload another round, forcing the demon in Shiratori's body to retreat in order to avoid being shot.

"You damn exorcists!"Shiratori snarled, barring his sharpened and elongated teeth, as he dodged more bullets. "Don't think that this will be enough to stop me. The young prince is coming with me, you filthy _humans!"_

"I don't think so." Shiro responded coldly. "You will not be taking him."

"We'll see about that _exorcist."_ The demon sneered before turning to the demons that flanked him from behind. "Attack! Tear these pathetic pieces of shits to pieces!" He commanded.

The demon's charged forward once more, even more than before, forcing Shiro to throw the rest of the grenades he had on him and then retreat back to where Kyodo and Rin were.

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." Shiro's voice rang strong as the words started to take effect, causing the demons to stop and back up in fear. "Who forgives all your iniquities, Who **heals** all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction." The demons began falling to the ground withering in pain, some of them already disappearing. Shiro continued to recite while he quickly drew a circle on the ground with strange symbols inside. "Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's!"

The demons that had been descending upon them cried out in pain as they were all forcefully exorcised and sent back to Gehenna.

Shiratori growled in fury. " _How dare you!"_ He smashed his fist into the ground causing it to quake and crack. _"KILL THEM! KILL THOSE FUCKING EXORCISTS!"_

"For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants!" Shiro slammed his hand over his drawing on the ground and geyser of water erupted from the earth and head straight towards the demons as they all either retreated to higher ground or were swallowed up and eliminated by the water.

Shiro turned, grabbed a hold of Rin's upper arm, and started running towards the church. " _Come on!_ We have to get you to safety!"

"But why—Why are they after me?! _What fuck is going on old man!?"_ Rin cried out.

"There's no time to explain!" Shiro snapped, startling Rin. He had never spoken to him like that…

They had almost made it to the church when large mushrooms suddenly sprouted from the ground in front of them. Shiro, Rin, and Kyodo skidded to a halt just before they ended up slamming into them. Shiro shoved Rin towards the other priest causing Rin to stumble back, almost falling but was caught and steadied by Kyodo.

Shiro pulled out a handgun from within his priest's cassock and shot straight into the demons without mercy, but despite his deadly accuracy it just seemed as if there was no end to the demons coming at them. "Get Rin inside!" Shiro ordered as he dealt with a pack of large undead dogs that had darte out from the treeline.

"Right!" Kyodo nodded, turning to Rin his gestured towards the church. "Come on, this wa— _ARGH!"_

" _Kyodo!"_ Rin cried out in alarm as the priest was hit from the side and sent sprawling a good ten yards away. Rin ran to his side and crouched by his side making sure that the older male was still alive. Relief washed over Rin as he could feel a pulse and the priest had already started to groan. Rage then filled Rin and he turned and glared at the offender.

The demon possessed Shiratori just stood there grinning. "Pathetic human, come now young lord. It is time to return." He noticed Rin glaring at him and his protective stance over Kyodo's fallen form. "Do not waste your time with such inferior beings—"

" _SHUT UP!"_

 _BAM!_

Rin's fist suddenly connected with Shiratori's face as he landed a solid punch, similar to the one he had thrown just mere hours ago. Only this time Rin's fist, his whole body, was covered in blue flames that danced agitatedly as they responded to Rin's emotions.

The blue flames coating Rin's fist combined with Rin's own super strength sent the demon flying back into a tree with enough force that some of the bark caved inward.

Kyodo began stirring behind him. Rin rushed to his side, the flames completely gone now as helped the priest sit up and then stand.

"Are you ok?" Rin asked worriedly. There was a bit of blood sliding down the older male's forehead.

Kyodo let out a groan. "Yeah… don't worry about me. W-We have to get you out of here…" He hissed in pain as he tried to stand on his own. Rin held on to him to help him stay steady on his feet. Kyodo looked around, "Where's the demon?"

"I punched him and he went that— _Where'd he go?!"_ Rin cried out as he looked back to where he knows he had sent that demon flying towards but was no longer there, there was just an indention on the bark of the tree where the demon had hit.

Both of them started looking around trying to find where the demon had gone but it was still dark out and the moon's light only gave them a limited visual field. Somewhere to their left they heard the sound of gunshots and scripture verses being recited as Shiro dealt with the majority of the demons pursuing them as quickly as he could.

"Rin…"

The teen's attention snapped back to Kyodo.

"Get your things…quickly!" Rin nodded and did as he was told, bending down to grab his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He never let his gaze lower though, alert as ever and constantly looking around. Rin had the very strong suspicion that the demon was waiting for them to lower their guard, he had been in enough gang fights to know that this was an ambush.

 _SNAP!_

Rin immediately turned towards the noise in time to see a clawed hand burst out from the tree line and grab him from the neck, lifting him off the ground, and before pulling him towards the forest.

" _RIN!"_ Kyodo cried out.

Rin struggled against the grip blocking his airways, trying to pull the fingers off his throat so he could breath. Despite Rin's own strength the demon possessing Shiratori was proving to be even stronger.

"Forgive me my prince but time is of the essence."

Rin could feel his vision blurring and his struggles began to wane, as the demon constricted his windpipe. Rin could barely register Kyodo engaging the demon in combat, but even with one arm keeping Rin restrained, the demon was still able to block and keep Kyodo at bay, almost as if he was playing with him.

" _AHAHAHA! Just give up you_ _ **stupid**_ _human!"_ Shiratori taunted as he struck Kyodo and sent the priest sprawling to the ground again. The demon smirked cruelly as he watched his opponent struggling to get up, that last hit had most likely cracked, if not broken, several ribs. As much as the demon would have loved to spill exorcist blood now was not the time, he had to get the prince somewhere far away from these thrice damned humans. He turned his attention to Rin, who was just barely clinging to consciousness. "Now then young lord… it is time for to— _ARGH!"_

Rin suddenly found himself dropped to the ground, with the pressure no longer around his throat he could finally breathe. Coughing and rubbing his abused neck to help replenish the depleted oxygen supply in his lungs. He looked up to see Shiratori's body struggling to get, what looked like some weird scarecrow biting down on the paled-haired teen's shoulder, off of him.

Rin was then suddenly hauled up onto his feet and was about to take a swing at whoever had grabbed him but stopped when he saw that it was Shiro. Behind his adoptive father were the other priests of the monastery. Izumi was tending to Kyodo's wounds while Maruta was keeping the sea of demons at bay by breathing fire!

"We'll distract them and hold them off as long as we can," Nagatomo said as he pulled out several knives.

Shiro nodded. "Right. Come on!" He grabbed Rin by his upper arm and pulled the teen behind him, running as fast as he could towards the church while they still had a clear opening. Shiro only slowed down a bit to scoop up Rin's bag before setting off once more.

"B-But…we can't just leave them to fight that—those monsters!" Rin protested. He had seen how strong those things were and despite his confusion and all the emotions bubbling and swirling inside him he did not want to see the people that had raised him for fifteen years get hurt, not if he could at least help.

"That's not important right now! Right now all that matters is making sure that you are safe and as far away from here as possible." Shiro snapped as they kept running, shooting the occasional bullet to disperse any black masses growing in their path.

Finally they reached the church. Shiro pulled out an old looking key and inserted it into the lock and chanted as he made the sign of the Holy Cross. "I pray the Lord my soul to keep. See me safely through the night, and wake me with the morning light." The key turned on its own and there was an audible click and the door unlooked.

He then turned to Rin and shoved the bag into the teen's arms and a cellphone into his palm. "The demonic activity should taper off come morning, if we haven't come for you by then call the number in my phone, it's the only one in there." Shiro instructed hastily; ignoring the scared, hurt, and panicked look in his adoptive son's eyes. "A friend of mine will then come get you and take you somewhere safe. You are to go with him."

" _No way old man!_ You can't just pass me off to some God damned stranger! If you think—"

" _There's no time! Just do as you are told!"_ Shiro yelled, he then opened the door and threw Rin inside. Rin landed roughly on the duffle bag, the strange sword digging painfully into his back.

Rin shot back up to his feet and ran to the door that had been slammed closed as soon as he had been pushed through. "Don't you _dare_ old man! I want to… know…"

Rin had thrown open the door but all that was there an empty storage room filled with broken furniture and cobwebs _. "What the hell…"_ Rin closed and open the door several more times to make sure that this was real. He then looked around to be certain that there weren't any other doors that he could have come out of and there weren't. The only other doors in the building, that looked to be an abandoned and rundown church, were on the other side, far away from where Rin had entered.

There was no mistake that Rin had gone through the storage room door but now it wasn't the same door. It was different. He ran to one of the broken windows and looked outside and saw that the entire forest had changed as well, there were now tall pines and he could see mountains in the distance.

"No way… this… this isn't real…"

Rin may not have paid that much attention whenever his teachers yammered on and on about boring and useless shit in school but he knew enough that there were no mountains anywhere near Southern True Cross District. A person would need to be at least a hundred and fifty kilometers or so from the city before they started seeing mountains.

So how was it possible for Rin to suddenly be somewhere where there are mountains in just two seconds?

It wasn't, this all had to be some sort of crazy dream. There was no way any of what had just happened was possible…

Right…?

"Demons don't exist…" Rin murmured, backing away from the windows and back to the center of the church. "None of this is real. Demons aren't real. Demons aren't—"

Rin suddenly stopped his panicked thinking as memories upon memories flooded him. Small things that he suddenly remembered throughout his whole life but had always dismissed as unimportant, memories of all the times people had looked at him with fear or whispered demon behind his back when they thought he wasn't listening anymore. His classmates looking at him as if he was some sort of monster and staying away from him, teachers silently judging him and already deciding he was not worth their time to try and tame the 'demon child'.

The constant niggling feeling that he did not belong and that his very being was… _wrong._

All of these bits and pieces came together to start forming a clear picture and an undeniable truth. A truth that Rin wasn't sure he wanted to face…

Demons were real.

Exorcists were real.

 _He_ was a _demon._

His family had known…

They had lied to him…

They had known the truth this whole time and they had lied to his face for his whole damn life…

It was like the air had been stolen from his lungs as Rin fell to his knees. The entire weight of everything that had happened in the last few hours, along with his own realization that his whole life he had been lied to by the people he trusted the most was just too much for the fifteen year old to deal with. Tears started to leak out from his eyes, sliding down his face and falling onto the dusty floor as emotions hit him to fast and too hard to process until finally a choked sob escaped his throat.

The dam was breaking and Rin just let it break, not even bothering to hold it back. It just hurt too damn much.

Rin just let himself cry.

He didn't know how long he stayed on the floor crying out in anguish as he let out years of pent up anguish and hurt. All the years he had turned a blind eye to his family's lies and the little voice inside of him nagging him that he wasn't normal, that he wasn't _human…_ everything was finally coming out.

Rin cried until no more tears came and then he just sat there on the floor, staring at the spot where his tears had practically washed the floor where they hit.

The sounds of rolling thunder and the soft patter of rain is what finally drew Rin's attention and broke him out of the trance he had been in.

He looked to one of the windows that was missing its glass and saw that the sky had gotten even darker. A storm was coming.

Wiping the remaining tears and snot from his face with his sleeves, Rin moved to get up when he felt something in his pocket. He reached into his jacket's pocket and pulled out the cellphone that Shiro had shoved into his hand before pushing him through the door.

Rin paused, staring at before opening it. The dim lighting illuminating his face as he scrolled down to contacts and saw there really was only one number listed there. Not even a name just a number.

Rin's finger hovered over the call button for a minute before he suddenly snapped the phone shut. He glanced over to the door that he had come in through, then at the duffle still on the ground, then back at the phone in his hand.

"… _You are, the child of Satan…"_

" _That's not important right now! Right now all that matters is making sure that you are safe and as far away from here as possible."_

" _There's no time! Just do as you are told!"_

"Sorry old man, but I'm done with your bullshit…"

Rin gripped the phone hard enough that it smashed under the pressure and let the broken phone fall to the floor where it laid in pieces. He grabbed the bag off the floor, and after a moment of hesitation the sword as well, and made his way to the front of the church. The doors were locked but the old and crippled wood proved no match for Rin's inhuman strength as with one solid push the doors gave way and opened.

By now the rain was starting to come down harder but Rin didn't care as he threw up the hood of his jacket over his head to keep some part of him dry and ran out of the church. It didn't matter where he was going, he just didn't want to be there when or _if_ someone finally came to get him. He just had to get away.

He ran as fast as he could, mud and water splashing up, as the rain was now a complete downpour that soaked Rin to the bone but he didn't care. The wet and cold actually felt good, it helped to numb him from his own inner turmoil raging inside him. And if the rain also happened to erase any stray tears and all remnants of his past break down then so be it.

After all, he was finally fulfilling everyone's wishes for him since he was six years old and had broken his classmate's arm.

Okumura Rin was disappearing from everyone's lives.

* * *

Kosaten= Crossroads

 _ **There you have it. The very first chapter to my new AoE AU story. Obviously I am a bit rusty since I have not written anything in… years… but I am hoping to get back into the game by writing this fic up. Obviously Rin is in a lot of pain right now because he had some time alone to realize that his family has lied to him for his whole life, no one is explaining anything at all, they are all just 'here's your stuff you need to leave now'.**_

 _ **I don't care who you are, if a 15 year old who has been shunned for most of their life over something that they cannot control and has had to just deal with that while living in the shadow of a much more successful sibling and then being told that they had to leave because they are a danger... That would be really messed up. It is something from the manga that really pisses me off was that they waited until shit hit the ceiling for anyone to explain ANYTHING to Rin, and even afterwards not one of the priests at the monastery, who CLEARLY knew about Rin, stepped up to try and explain things to Rin. Yukio sure as hell didn't and still didn't say anything until he had no choice, but again, he still doesn't tell Rin everything.**_

 _ **So yeah, I wanted to show a story where Rin runs away and he is angry and hurt at his family for keeping all these secrets from him, and you know what, he has the right to be angry. Obviously, Rin is not going to stay mad forever but I want Rin to be on his own for a bit just so that he can process things on his own and come to terms by himself about who and what he is without any judgments from anyone.**_

 _ **Also, on a more important note, I am going to need a beta-reader for this story so if anyone is interested please let me know. Obviously this chapter did not have one because I am using it to advertise for one.**_


	2. Road to Nowhere

_**Disclaimer: I do not own AoE**_

 _ **And here we are with the first chapter… I had planned on updating this last week but I had to put my dog down so… yeah… I wasn't really in the best state of mind or mood to post anything.**_

 _ **Thank you all for your reviews. I was really happy to see so many people enjoyed the premise of this little plot bunny of mine. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter and please leave a review/comment afterwards to let me know what you all think about this.**_

* * *

 **Down the Fox Hole**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Road to Nowhere**

" _When someone tells you that you have done something that has hurt them, you don't get to decide that you didn't."_

― _**Karon Waddell**_

* * *

Rin wasn't sure for how long he had been running but eventually the trees began to thin out and he saw lights in the distance. He headed towards the first sign of civilization he had seen in who knows how long, and soon enough he came across a highway. There did not seem to be that much traffic, it was still pretty dark out and Rin could only guess that it was still only a few hours past midnight.

He was soaked to the bone and the rain did not appear to be letting up anytime soon. Rin let out a curse as he almost lost his footing on the muddy ground as he climbed up the small slope and hopped over the railings. He started walking along side the road to see if there was any signs that could help him figure out just where the fuck he was…

After about fifteen minutes of walking the wet and miserable teen was finally given a clue as to where he was. Pushing his wet bangs out of his face he was able to make out what the sign said.

 _Kyoto 50 kilometers South_

He was near Kyoto.

Walking further down the road and around a mountain curve Rin started to see the bright lights of the city. He could even see the lights that illuminated and indicated the top of the famed Kyoto Tower.

Without even thinking Rin started to running, his shoes sloshing and splashing on the wet asphalt. Even though Kyoto wasn't as large as Tokyo, Rin had grown up in the city his whole life, this was something familiar to him, it was…

It was the first place they would look for him…

It would be the first place they would try finding him after realizing that he had left… wherever the hell he had been shoved to.

The wet teen stopped running and eventually came to a stop. He stood there in the rain, not feeling any of the chill or the wetness he had just a moment ago, there was just uncertainty.

Did he even want to be found?

And even if he did go back—not that he even remembered how—he'd most likely just end up getting lost in the woods and would just make his situation even shittier than it already was. Then what? What would happen to him? Rin may not be as smart as his brother, Yukio, but he knew in his gut that going back to the way things were at Southern Cross Monastery with everyone was not even _remotely_ possible. Everyone seemed to be in on this big secret and part of it involved Rin leaving the monastery for good.

Rin glanced down at the ground and saw his reflection in one of the puddles. In his mind's eye he saw himself covered in blue flames. Should he head into the city and try to hide there and try to start a new life or should he try to hide somewhere else and if so where?

He had no money, no friends, no one to rely on but himself.

He was on his own.

A pair of bright headlights broke him away from his thoughts, blinding him as a truck blared its horn at him and tires screeched to an abrupt stop to avoid hitting him. Rin barely a split second to jump back and ended up falling on his backside and scrapping his palms on the asphalt as the truck stopped in front of him.

The side window rolled down as the truck's driver stuck his head out. "What the hell kid?! Are ya trying to get yourself killed or something?"

Rin sat there on the ground for a second and blinked before his temper got the better of him and he snapped. "None of your _fucking_ business old man!" He stood up, slung his duffle over his shoulder, and started walking away from the truck in the same direction he had previously came from.

The driver was about to yell back at the rude teen and drive off, he was on a schedule and he didn't have time to deal with this bullshit. Just as the driver was getting ready to start his truck back up again he stopped and looked at the retreating form of the angry young man; wet clothes, duffel bag, and despite the anger he had seen in the kid's eyes there was something else too… there was fear and a look that this kid had just gone through some kind of hell.

As a truck driver for over forty years now he had seen plenty of people on the side of the road, and he was no stranger to teens running away from home and over time he had been able to tell a few things about the type of teens who ran. There were the ones who were real punks, the spoiled brats, and then there were the ones who had a pretty damn good reason to run. The boy in front of him definitely looked like the latter.

Letting out a tired sigh the old driver slowly caught up and pulled up next to soaking teen who stopped and looked surprised as he was addressed again by this total stranger.

"Where you heading to boy?"

Rin opened his mouth to respond but then shut it, glancing back at the ground. "…Nowhere…"

"… I'm heading out towards the Kitsune villages, about 700 kilometers north from here, should be there by sundown." The driver said looking at Rin. "I can give you a ride as far as that or anywhere in between. After that it's up to you."

Rin stood there for a minute contemplating the offer. On the one hand it meant getting out of the rain and maybe ending up in some unknown town where he would have a better chance of going unnoticed, and more importantly unfound, but on the other hand… getting into a truck with a stranger on the side of the road wasn't exactly the smartest or safest thing to do as well. But Rin didn't have that many options to choose from and he wasn't known for making the smartest choices anyways. His long records of fights and trouble throughout his life would attest to that.

"Well, kid?"

Rin caught sight of several pairs of glowing eyes in the shadows from the darkened woods, watching him. They were no figments of his imagination and Rin knew _exactly_ what sort of creatures they were.

Decision made, Rin opened the passenger side of the truck and climbed in.

"Name's Toyama Sato."

"Rin."

"Just Rin?" Toyama gave Rin curious look.

"Yeah." Rin mumbled, he wasn't about to give his full name, probably should have given a fake name but he was too tired to think of one at the moment.

"Ok, Rin. It's a long drive to the kitsune villages, you should get some sleep then; you look like you could use it." Toyama said.

Rin grunted in response but got into a more comfortable position, he wasn't going to argue. He was emotionally and physically drained and sleep sounded really good right now. But before he closed his eyes he glared at the old man driving next to him, "You try anything old man and I swear to God you'll regret it."

"Relax kid, I'm not going to do anything other than drive." Toyama glanced over at Rin so that he could see that he meant no harm.

Rin huffed and settled back into the seat, the movement of the truck and the drumming of the rain soon lulled him into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

It was times like these that Father Fujimoto really wished that he hadn't given up on smoking because he could sure as hell go for a pack of cigarettes right about now… and maybe a few shots of vodka while he was at it.

It had been a rough and hectic night. After ensuring that Rin was safely through the door and out of harms way, it had been a miniature war between the humans and demons as Shiro and the other priests kept on fighting wave after wave of demons that just would not stop coming. It wasn't until just past three in the morning that Shiro was able to take down the one orchestrating the attack. Even after Shiro had exorcised the demon king, Astoroth, out of the white-haired delinquent the punk had, once again, been possessed. This time by none the demon general Aeshma. His mission had been simple; to retrieve Rin and take him to Gehenna. Though, still not on the same level as one of the actual eight demon kings, Aeshma was still no push over, a demon of high ranking, power and strategic intelligence who had been purposely wearing them down before he finally showed himself to try and finish the exorcists off.

But Shiro wasn't the Paladin, the strongest exorcist in the True Cross Order, for nothing. Once, Rin was no longer in danger Father Fujimoto could really unleash all of his righteous fury upon the demons that would _dare_ to try and take his _son_ away from him. Aeshma may have been able to get a few hits on the aging Paladin, Shiro's slightly sore ribs were a painful reminder that he was no longer as young and spry as he used to be—but Shiro was still faster and stronger than the demon had thought the aging human male to be—Shiro had made quick work of him before exorcising the demon out of Shiratori. After the boss had been taken down it was just a matter of cleaning up and sending the rest of the demons running back into the shadows or straight back to Hell.

Now that the demonic activity had finally tampered off and dawn would soon be arriving they were granted this small moment of respite to quickly patch up their more serious injuries. The worst had been Kyodo who had suffered a mild concussion, a broken arm, and some fractured ribs. He would most likely confined to bed rest for at least a couple of weeks if not a month, but it looked like everyone would be able to fully heal and resume their exorcist duties after a few days of rest.

 _However…_

They did not have a few days… they would be lucky if they even had a few _hours._

With a groan Father Fujimoto stood up from where he had been sitting on a fallen tree and addressed the other priests. "Alright, listen up." The priests all gave the Paladin their undivided attention listening to hear what their next course of action would be. "This was just the first attack but we at least managed to survive it and more importantly we kept Rin away from them. Now we just have to keep it that way." He looked over to where Izumi was finishing wrapping a bandage around Kyodo's head. "Izumi, take Kyodo back to the monastery and make sure that the basic wards and illusion spells are at least up. That should buy us a little bit more time so that no one will notice much of what happened."

"Yes, Father Fujimoto." Izumi nodded.

Shiro then turned to other priests. "We need to at least file a report with the Order that there was some demonic activity in the area that we took care of. If we don't report anything that will look too suspicious… So, Maruta, you'll be the one to handle that."

Maruta also nodded in understanding.

Shiro then looked towards Nagatomo. "You will go and take Rin by train to Mt. Fuji, I will meet you there with Mephisto later. We have to make sure that there are no loose ends on our part and that the Order doesn't suspect that there is anything unusual about the demonic activity as of late. Is everyone clear?"

"Yes, Father!" They all responded.

"Good, now lets move. It's almost dawn so the demonic activity will taper off. For now…" _After that, we'll be ready for whatever they may try next._

With that the priests set out to complete their tasks. Between Izumi and Maruta they were able to get Kyodo to the one car that had miraculously stayed relatively unharmed throughout this whole ordeal. Shiro and Nagatomo watched as they carefully loaded Kyodo into the back seat of the car before they drove off, heading back towards the monastery. It was still early so there would be no traffic. With any luck they would reach the church before any early morning risers noticed the damage and called the local authorities. The less attention they received the better it would be for everyone in the long run, especially for Rin…

Shiro handed the necessary key to Nagatomo. "Go get Rin, make sure he's ok."

Nagatomo nodded as he took the key. "Are you going to head out now to see Mephisto?"

Shiro sighed and shook his head tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Not yet, I need to do a quick check of the area and make sure we didn't miss any demons, even a small fry could be a possible information leak." He rolled back one of his shoulders, getting the kinks out of it. "Damn, what a night…"

Nagatomo couldn't help but agree with his boss as he watched him head back towards the forest, picking up his shotgun from where he had set it down. The younger exorcist inserted the key into the door and stepped through into the old church. "Rin," he called out, his voice echoing in the decrepit old building. "Come on Rin, we need to go. It's safe now."

There was no answer, only the soft patter of rain that was still falling outside.

' _Maybe he fell asleep…'_ The priest wouldn't be surprised if the fifteen year old had decided to take a nap while he waited for them. It had been a very stressful and eventful day; it would be enough to send anyone into a deep slumber. And Rin was _definitely_ a deep sleeper…

As Nagatomo called out for the teen once more, looking in between the pews to see if Rin had decided to rest on one of them, he felt like something wasn't right though. It should have been easy to find Rin since he wasn't exactly the most peaceful sleeper. He was known to move around a lot in bed and even snore so why was it that he didn't hear—

Nagatomo stopped.

He couldn't hear anything…other than the rain outside it was absolutely quiet inside the church.

Panic began to creep in as he ran up and down the aisle of the church calling out for Rin. He looked in every single possible nook and cranny that could fit a fifteen-year-old boy but there was no trace of the dark blue-haired teen. The priest threw open the doors of the church, ignoring the rain and frantically looked outside for any trace of Rin, calling out for him.

" _Rin! Rin, where are you!"_

This was not good. This was _really,_ _ **really**_ not good.

Rin was gone.

Nagatomo ran back to the old church, jamming the key into the lock and threw open the doors. He had to tell Shiro!

" _Father Fujimoto!"_ He called out, hoping that the older man was still close enough to hear him. _"Father Fujimoto!"_

Shiro came running out of the woods to Nagatomo's left. "What, what is it?!" He noticed the panicked look the normally calm monk's face, a feeling of dread beginning to form in his stomach. "Nagatomo, what's wrong?"

"He's gone!"

"What do you mean he's _gone."_

" _Rin!_ He's gone, he wasn't at the church!"

Shiro's blood seemed to freeze at that moment. " _What…?_ Are you sure?"

Nagatomo nodded, "Yes! I looked all over for him but he wasn't ther—"

Shiro wasn't listening anymore as he marched over to the door and opened the magical passageway to where he had sent Rin earlier. The door banged against the wall hard enough to shake dust down from the rafters as Shiro stepped forward, Nagatomo at his heels. He quickly scanned the church just to confirm for himself that his son was truly not there but the verification only made him clentch his fists and teeth.

" _Damnit!"_ The aging priest broke into a sprint and out the church and began calling out for his son but was met only with rain and silence. He turned to Nagatomo, "We need to find him, _quickly!"_ he said urgently. "Check the perimeter, we need to see if something or someone may have taken him." It was not a very likely situation. This location was warded to keep demons out and to even confuse humans who strayed too closely and give them an uneasy feeling so that they would be discouraged from entering. Not to mentioned that the doors had been locked. But that didn't necessarily mean that nothing could get _out…_

As if reading his thoughts Nagatomo asked, "Father, is possible there might have been a demon or human inside the wards waiting for him?"

Shiro paused and thought for a moment. It was a possibility but the chances of that happening seemed to be astronomically slim. "It wouldn't make sense though," Shiro answered and continued to explain when he saw Nagatomo's confused look. "If Rin was taken from within the wards of this place then that would mean that something or someone would have known that he would have been here and that doesn't seem likely since we have dozens of hiding places throughout Japan and the key I chose to give to Rin was purely random. They couldn't have known in advance that this would be the place we sent Rin to in case we couldn't take him to Mephisto right away."

"Is it possible that they had someone at each one of the safe houses, just in case…?" Nagatomo suggested.

Shiro shook his head. "No. Rin had _just_ awakened. They couldn't have known where any of them were. Hell! The demons hadn't known Rin was even in this _country_ up until less than 12 hours ago…" He trailed off as he starred at the muddy ground, the rain continuing to pour around them, trying to figure out who or what could have taken his son.

Nagatomo started to shift uncomfortably. A stray thought entering his mind. A small possibility…"Father… I wasn't able to find any sign of a struggle anywhere; inside _or_ outside…" He swallowed, hesitating when he saw the Paladin's form tense from behind, as if he knew where Nagatomo's train of thought was going. "What if Rin… ran away…"

Shiro did not answer but his form was absolutely still. Both priests stood in the rain for a bit before Shiro quickly bit his thumb enough to draw blood and quickly drew a summoning seal on his opposite hand.

" _I draw upon the guidance of the guardians of the traveller,_

 _Illuminate the path for that of which I seek,_

 _Shine bright and true and stray naught for that I ask of thee,"_

Slamming his hand to the ground faint green fairy lights rose out of the ground from underneath Shiro's hand as he stood. He waited as the lights gathered and huddled together before they shot out into the woods, creating a path.

"This way," Without another word Shiro took off following the trail of lights, Nagatomo barely keeping pace beside him as they ran across the wet ground.

"What are these?" The younger priest asked.

"They are a form of will'o-the-wisps, they come in handy when you are tracking something since they pick up on the aura." He explained. "The brighter the light the stronger the trail."

"But why not use a demon with a strong sense of smell to find him?"

"Because this damn rain would have already muddled, if not completely washed away Rin's scent. This way we get the best shot of finding him or at least his general direction and then we can use a tracker-class demon."

Nagatomo nodded in understanding as they kept running. The rain was still coming down on them, the storm clouds blocking the sky from view so it was difficult for the exorcists to tell if it was almost dawn or not, but since the demonic activity had weathered off it was safe to assume that the sun would be up in just a few more hours. Eventually the trees began to thin just as the lights began to grow dimmer and dimmer, eventually disappearing right when they hit a road. Shiro let out a curse when the lights faded away.

This wasn't good… if the wisps had disappeared that meant that there was no way to trace Rin's aura, too much time had passed from when the teen had passed by here. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for the damn rain. They were at a dead end. The only good thing was that there were only two possible directions that the teen could have gone.

"Nagatomo, what's the closest town or city?" Shiro asked in a serious tone.

"I-I think it's Kyoto," the younger man answered. "It should be about 50 kilometers from here."

"Then that's where we'll start looking," Shiro declared as he started marching down the road, sure enough the lights of the city were soon in sight. He stopped as he gazed out towards the sleeping city. Even from here he could hear the multiple temples ringing out their bells to announce the early hours.

Nagatomo barely managed to keep from falling into the mud as he hurried to catch up to his boss. For a guy who was almost fifty he sure could move. "Okay, but why there? Rin could have gone the other way." He pointed out.

Shiro shook his head. "No, I think Rin would have gone to Kyoto, it's a city so it's familiar to him… And besides..." he let out a strained chuckle and his eyes caught sight of the Kyoto Tower, a sad smile on his face. "He's always wanted to go there." Shiro can still remember how excited Rin had been when the school trip was announced for the third years at his school… and then the crushing disappointment when just a few days before the trip he had been banned from going for getting in a fight with another student, a student who happened to have very well off and well connected parents.

Shiro forced himself to stop thinking about that incident and how unfair the school officials had been to Rin and instead focus back on the problem on hand… and that was _finding_ Rin…

Of all the times for Rin to run off… now couldn't have been _worst_ timing. Who knew what sort of trouble his thickheaded fifteen-year-old son would get himself into now that Gehenna was aware his awakening. The only saving grace they had right now was that the night was now receding, and with it the demonic activity, so that gave them at least twelve hours to find Rin before nightfall was upon them once more.

"Come on, lets head back." Shiro turned and backtracked the way they had come. In no time they had reached their destination.

"So what are we going to do now?" Nagatomo asked as they reached the old church.

Shiro didn't answer right away, pulling out the necessary key as they stepped inside and headed to the back of the church where their door to return was. "First, we will regroup at the monastery and make sure that everyone is alright." They stepped through the doorway and instead of the woods they emerged back at the monastery. The sky was already beginning to light up and there was the sound of the city slowly coming alive again for another day. "Then, I want you and everyone else to head to Kyoto and start looking for Rin. The rain should stop by then and so his scent should turn up again so use one of you tracking summons to find him."

They entered the main living area and headed towards the kitchen where the other monks were waiting for them. Maruto was finishing bandaging the rest of Kyodo's wounds while Izumi was taking inventory of the exorcist supplies to get the wards back up to full power, he was the first to notice when the other two priests entered the room.

Judging by the emotionless and still look that Shiro had on and the worry etched onto Nagatomo's face, Izumi could immediately tell that something was wrong, and asked. "What's wrong, did something happen?"

Shiro gestured for everyone to gather around.

"Rin is missing." He stated ignoring the shocked looks from the other priests, now was not the time to lose their cool. "I am going to head to Mephisto's and let him know of the situation, hopefully he will have everything ready. Besides Maruta and Kyodo, the rest of you will go to Kyoto and start looking for Rin. Understood."

"Yes, Father Fujimoto!"

"Good, we don't have that much time, we have only until nightfall to find Rin so lets find him before those damned demons do."

With that everyone got to work. Izumi and Nagatomo went to a door and opened up a passage to Kyoto as Maruta and Kyodo bid them goodbye and good luck before heading out to their duties. The wards had already been put up to ensure that bystanders would not be able to see the extensive damage that the monastery had obtained and instead all they would notice was that the monastery was closed for a sabbatical of an unspecified time. Now they had to replenish the wards to guard against demons and the proper rites and rituals would take at least most of the morning but the faster they got it done, the faster they could join the search party in Kyoto.

With everything in regards to the monastery taken care of for the moment, Shiro took out one more key, this one rather flamboyant looking, and opened the front door leading to the office of a certain purple-haired demon headmaster.

Said demon was busy playing with a game console and at first pretended not to notice the Paladin that had just entered his office with a cold and serious look on his face.

"Mephisto…"

"Ah! Father Fujimoto, what a surprise…" Mephisto put the console down and smiled brightly at the Paladin. "I take it that my precious little brother has now awaken and is safely hidden by now. After all, for what other reason would you have to pay me such an unexpected visit~?" He grinned showing off his fangs.

"Rin is gone."

"Well, I should think so," Mephisto chuckled. "That was the point of all those safe houses you set up all those years ago."

"No, Rin is _gone._ He ran away, and we need to find him as soon as possible."

Mephisto stared at Shiro, his eyes widening as the only indication of his shock, especially at how calm Shiro was being, but then he noticed a few things here and there about his long time friend and fellow True Cross exorcist. He seemed much older, his fists were clenched so tightly at his sides that there was just the slightest of tremor, a hard look in his eyes, and his complexion was a bit paler than usual were the only indicators that tipped Mephisto off as to how Shiro was really feeling inside.

After spending so much time in Assiah, Mephisto liked to think himself as an expert on human emotions, which is why he had so much _fun_ toying with them. They were just one of the things that he never tired of when it came to humans because emotions were the reason that humans could be so unpredictable; they turned the cowardly brave, the righteous sinful, the murderous into nurturers, the humble arrogant… there was just a never ending list of _possibilities_ when emotions were mixed with humans. He only had to look at the exorcist in front of him for proof of how emotions could shape a human. Fujimoto Shiro had been one of the most efficient, and most ruthless to the point of being cold-hearted exorcist that Mephisto had ever known in all of his two-hundred years time with the True Cross Order and yet he was the one to have spared the children of Satan and even raise said children as his own for the past fifteen years…

 _Yes, humans truly were an interesting race…_

But right now what the headmaster had to worry about was the fact that his youngest brother was lost, somewhere in the world.

Honestly, Mephisto had not considered this outcome. He had honestly believed that the current Paladin would have easily been able to get Rin to safety and brought to him as soon as there was any sign of the seal on his demon heart weakening.

Mephisto leaned back into his chair as he stared at Shiro, "I see…" He gestured for Shiro to take a seat as he summoned his favorite tea set to pour himself and his guest some refreshments. Shiro didn't touch his cup, even though he looked like he needed it, while Mephisto took a delicate sip of his before addressing Shiro once more. "And how long has my precious baby brother been missing?"

"Rin has been out of my sight for a little over four hours… So he has been 'missing' no more than that amount." Shiro said emotionlessly.

Mephisto hummed as he took another sip of his tea, "And I assume that you already sent the others to look for him as well as used will'o-the-wisps to get a general idea where he could have gone." Shiro nodded. "And if those had failed to lead you straight to him that could only mean that he has put enough time and distance between you all for his aura to begin fading… meaning he has quite the lead already..." Shiro's clenched his hands on his knees, nodding in confirmation once more. Mephisto noticed the gesture and snapped his fingers, his tea refilling by the levitating teapot and a tray of cookies appearing before him with a small _'poof'._ He interlocked his fingers and leaned forward on his desk, the smallest on his face. "Perhaps you should start from the beginning and tell me _everything_ that has happened…"

As Father Fujimoto began to recount the events of the past twelve hours only one thought became prominent in Mephisto's head…

 _This was going to be_ _ **far**_ _more interesting than he had ever imagined…._

* * *

 _ **There we go, drama building on both sides as Shiro and the other priests begin their search for Rin and Rin is heading as far away as he possibly can. I know that some may say that Rin is not stupid enough to get into a truck with a stranger but remember Rin is very emotional right now; he's hurt, tired, scared, and alone. He has just been thrust into this world of demons and has found out that he been lied to his whole life and that he really is a demon… So it makes sense that all he wants to do is just get as much distance as possible from the people whom he trusted but pretty much ended up betraying him in a way.**_

 _ **Poor kid…**_

 _ **I am honestly surprised that there aren't more stories that have Rin running away from home when he finds out the truth… And since Shiro did not die in front of him and Rin didn't get the chance to meet his biological father that leaves a lot of room for teenage angst as well as the chance to explore the consequences of raising a teenager and making so many big decisions about their life behind their backs… I know that people will make the argument that Shiro was an awesome dad, and based off the few flashbacks with him that we have in the manga and the anime that is a fair assessment. But he was in no way perfect and this one decision to keep Rin from the truth is some pretty shitty parenting.**_

 _ **Just saying.**_

 _ **So leave a review or comment and I hope you all stick around to see what is in store for Rin next, and don't worry Yukio is coming up soon as well.**_


	3. A New Day

_**Thank you all for your support and reviews. I know that this chapter is a little late but here we are with the next chapter.**_

 _ **Quick recap; Rin has now learned of his heritage and has fled the designated safe house and is off to who knows where**_ **(although the title alone should give you a big hint),** _ **Shiro and the others are now trying to figure out where Rin is and are on a mission to find him before the demons do, and I'm here plotting on ways to torment these characters 3**_

…

 _ **Please read and enjoy and leave a review/comment telling me what you think of the story so far.**_

 _ **I'm not going to lie, I was seriously thinking of Let it Go from Frozen, specifically the Demi Lovato version when I was writing this…**_

 _ **DON'T JUDGE ME!**_

 _ **Disclaimer; I do not own AoE**_

* * *

 **Down the Fox Hole**

 **Chapter 2**

 **A New Day**

" _A good intention, with a bad approach, often leads to a poor result."_

― _**Thomas A. Edison**_

* * *

"…ey, id…"

"…"

"…Hey…"

"…"

"Hey, wake-up…"

A gentle shake on his shoulder managed to bring Rin out of the uneasy slumber he had, somehow, fallen into. He grunted as he removed his cheek from the passenger side window and rolled his neck in order to get the kinks out of it from the awkward position he had been sleeping in. For a moment Rin was confused as to where he was and why he was in a truck instead back in his room at the monastery but then all the memories of the previous night came flooding back to him.

' _Right… I'm a runaway now…'_ He yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, looking out the window in order to get a better idea of where they might possibly be.

He had not the slightest fucking clue…

"Hey, old man, where are we?" Rin asked letting out another yawn.

The driver spared a glance the teen he had picked up in the early morning. "We just passed Chisanaka Village about an hour ago." He pointed at a sign up ahead, "I'm about to stop for gas in the next town in about another hour if that's where you want to get off or stretch your legs for a bit and get something to eat. It's just a little past noon actually."

Rin digested the information, and nodded before going back to looking out the window, watching the scenery pass by. They were no longer near any large cites and were instead well into the countryside. Wide-open fields and rice paddies with the occasional farmhouse surrounded by forests and mountains in the background were all Rin could see. Even though Rin had never left the city, other than for the rare trip to the beach when he was a small child, he could not help but smile at the sight. It was very calming and helped to keep his mind off of other things.

Like where he was going to go now…?

Sure he had transportation but other than that he had no idea where he was going or what he was going to do once he got there. It's not as if he had _planned_ to be a runaway, but it's not as if things ever went as planned with him anyways. He didn't really have a plan when he graduated middle school other than to get a job and even that had not gone so well considering he had gotten fired within three days and all because he stopped to beat the crap out of some assholes whose idea of fun involved torturing and cutting off the legs and heads of pigeons.

It was not as if anyone even expected him to do anything great with his life anyways… All his life he had been told that he was a demon, a monster that could only destroy. Teachers looked at him with contempt, his classmates looked at him with fear or disgust, always wondering why he could not be more like his twin, Yukio. Yukio had always been the one who had a bright future ahead of him, he was going to be a doctor, _he_ was the smart and well-behaved twin. He could do something with his life.

' _Unlike me…'_ Rin thought bitterly. Despite always being compared to his smarter and better-liked twin, Rin had always been so _proud_ of his younger brother, never jealous, and right now the teen could only hope that Yukio would continue to live a normal life. Since—according to Shiro—Yukio had not inherited any of this… _curse_. He was _normal._ And if anything, Rin was just thankful that his younger brother had been spared from all of this.

From the demons.

From the danger.

From _him._

Rin's whole world had been pulled out from underneath him and flipped upside down but at least the only good thing about all of this was that him running away would mean that Yukio would get to live a normal life as far away from him as possible. More than anything Rin wanted his little brother to grow up and achieve his dream of becoming a doctor. Maybe even find himself a nice busty blonde girlfriend.

But at the same time there was a part of Rin, no matter how much he tried to push it down, that was hurting and ached at the fact that he may never see his younger brother again and that he would never be able to tell him the truth and why he had to stay away. There was a selfish part of him that wanted to call Yukio and let him know everything—or at the very least let him know that he was safe. But again, Rin pushed that feeling away. The fifteen year old absolutely refused to have his younger brother get involved in anyway.

No matter how much it hurt.

' _It's better this way…'_ Rin let out a sigh, unaware of the inquisitive side glances that the old trucker driver beside him was throwing him.

Toyama Sato was not one to pry. To him other people's lives were none of his business and decades in his profession has taught him that everyone has a reason for being where they were and that first appearances were never a good indication of a person's past or true character.

But there was something about the young teen that he had picked up that seemed so… sad and broken that he just could not leave well enough alone.

He wasn't expecting much of an answer from the teen but it was still worth a try. "Hey kid, you okay?"

The blue-haired teen just let out another sigh, still looking out the window with a blank expression. "I'm fine…" Rin sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

Toyama couldn't help but scoff at that. "Kid, you sure as hell aren't ' _fine'_. We got some time until the next town, so what's troubling you?"

"I said I was _fine_ old man!" Rin snapped back, glaring at the driver. "It's none of your fucking business anyways." He muttered angrily under his breath.

Toyama just stared back, not put off by the angsty teen's response, even as said teen faced away from him in a huff with his arms crossed and a stormy expression on his young face that would have easily kept most people from approaching him. But the truck driver had faced his fair share of angst-ridden teens to be deterred.

"You're right," Toyama said after a few moments of silence, going back to focusing on the road. "It is none of my business, but you know… It doesn't hurt for a stranger to hear you out sometimes." Rin stared from the corner of his eye at the old driver when he spoke. "We all got a past, and I'm not here to judge. But if you want I can listen, it can be pretty quiet on these roads so a little change of pace is sometimes nice. And the radio's busted anyways."

Another stretch if silence passed between them. Both passengers staring out towards the road stretched out in front of them. They passed a few more small collections of buildings before Rin broke the silence.

"H-How… How would you feel… if everything you knew about your life… turned out to be a lie…?"

The older man almost missed the question, it had been asked in almost a whisper, and it was definitely not something that he had been expecting, it seemed so random but nonetheless he answered honestly after a short pause.

"I honestly would have no idea what to feel, that's not exactly the easiest question to answer." He glanced over at the teen, "But if it were me, I'd be pretty pissed off and scared."

Rin looked up from where he had been staring at his duffel bag.

"Being lied to in general is hard enough but it can hurt even more especially if those lies come from people you love and trust." He pretended not to see how tightly the boy was gripping his bag—like it was a lifeline, and continued. "Most of all I'd just feel lost…" He let out a sigh and then addressed the young man he had picked up in the rain. "I'm guessing that's the reason you're running away."

Rin's dark haired shielded his face so that Toyama could not see the expression on his face but he nodded.

Toyama had hit the nail on the head it had seemed.

"Can't say I blame you."

Rin head snapped back towards the aging driver. _That_ had not been what he had been expecting, but then again Rin was just not used to an adult actually listening to his side of the story and actually _siding_ with him! If anything, the fifteen-year old was prepared to be told that he was over reacting and being emotional and to just turn back and go home. Rin was fully prepared to hear that he was in the wrong. But to hear someone—a complete stranger tell him that he _wasn't._

Rin just didn't know how to respond to that.

The driver noticed Rin's shock and let out a little chuckle. "Don't look so surprised, kid. If there's one thing that I take seriously in this world that's the _truth."_ He then sighed and looked sadly ahead. "What a lot of people don't realize is that the truth goes hand in hand with _trust_ and once that is broken…well… it's not exactly the easiest thing to fix and that's only _if_ it can be fixed. Once something is broken it can never be the same again, no matter how much you try."

Rin stopped and thought about his relationships with everyone in his life and that was something that he had been trying not to think about.

 _Could he ever trust them again…?_

Did he even _want_ to?

His traveling companion spoke up once more, dragging Rin away from the depressing and dark thoughts that had begun to swirl around in his mind.

"The funny thing, though, is that that doesn't mean you shouldn't try."

Rin pondered what the truck driver had said for a moment.

"But what if it hurts too much to try?" Rin couldn't help but ask in a small voice.

Toyama shrugged. "Then you take your time. Sometimes that's all you need is time and space to just take a step back and breathe a little. And when you're ready, you try… and forgive. You let go and move on."

Rin couldn't help but roll his eyes at how much the old man beside him sounded like Father Fujimoto. "My old ma—someone that I knew used to always preach that forgiveness was truest test of courage."

"That's because it's such a fucking scary thing. Forgiving people that have hurt you the most in this world, because it means they can hurt you again."

The two traveling companions continued riding in silence; each with their own thoughts. Eventually, Rin dozed off again while Toyama couldn't stop himself from worrying about the young man sitting next to him. He didn't seem like a bad kid, just like someone whose been dealt a bad hand. The aging truck driver glanced up to his rearview mirror and unwound the small _kōtsū-anzen_ omamori, quietly slipping it into the sleeping teen's bag. It was just a small trinket that he had picked up from a small shrine years ago from a farming community nestled in the mountains. He had kept it with him and he has never once been in an accident or had broken down since the day he had gotten it nearly ten years ago. But now… something in Toyama's aging bones were telling him that this boy would need a little protection.

And his bones were never wrong. 

* * *

Okumura Yukio did not know what to think when he had received the call early in the morning informing him of the large scale demonic attack on the monastery or that his brother's demonic powers have now awoken. Those two things were not what had caught him off guard and what had him cursing every single bus driver and early commuter with some very colorful language that he had learned thanks to a mixture of his older twin, his foster father, and a certain annoying scantily-clad demon-sword wielding knight. What had completely shocked him was that Rin was now missing, apparently he had run away and they were now searching for him in Kyoto.

 _Of course,_ Yukio had known about the truth about their heritage since he was young and had kept it secret from Rin for his own good. He had known that this day would come. He had trained since he was seven to protect his brother from the demons that had tormented Yukio as a young child and that would come to take his precious brother away and drag him to Hell. A couple years ago Father Fujimoto had explained to him the plans and protections in place for when Rin's powers grew too strong to be held by the kouma sword. Yukio had thought of both the best and worst possible outcomes; everything going according to plan and Rin being safely hidden away where the demons and the Order would not be able to find him, the Order finding out and executing his brother for the mere crime of _existing,_ and finally Rin being found and taken to Gehenna by demons with no way to save him.

Not ONCE, in any of the scenarios that the younger Okumura had envisioned in his mind over and over again did they ever turned out like this…

Rin's powers awakening and Rin not being with them, the Order, or the demons after him… instead his older twin brother was just gone…

A part of him wanted to bang his head against the wall several times but he already had a migraine as it was trying to wrap his mind around the fact that all of their precautions and planning had all just gone straight to hell. Years of carefully laying out groundwork, skittering around the Order's authority so that they would not notice why certain places suddenly had so many spells and barriers warding them, of _lies…_

And it had all been for nothing.

Nothing had gone the way it was supposed to.

And Yukio had no idea what to do.

The only thing he could do now was finish his coffee and try and think of where his brother may be hiding in Kyoto.

And push down the urge to find Rin just so he could strangle him…

After racing back to the monastery as fast as he could and meeting up with Maruta and Kyoudo—who were finishing tending to Kyoudo's wounds and bringing the wards and illusions back up. They then proceeded to fill him in on everything that had happened and the current situation they were in before they all left via key to Kyoto to meet up with Izumi and Nagatomo.

And now here they all were at the Kyoto Station asking if anyone had seen a teenage boy of Rin's description to several of the stationmasters. Best to make sure that Rin had not gotten onto a train out of town and was still within the ancient city's parameters.

Yukio let out a weary sigh as he headed back to where Izumi and Kyoudo stood. They looked up from the map of the city in their hands as he approached.

"Anything?" Kyoudo asked.

Yukio shook his head. "Nothing, all of the stationmasters that I asked said that they did not see anyone matching Rin's description pass by here since this morning."

"Same here," Izumi said, gesturing towards the security office nearby. "We asked the guards if they may have seen Rin but no one who was on duty did and it would take too long to hunt down and ask any other guards whose shifts may have ended in that time—"

"And we would just be wasting time if we tried."

All three of them turned to see Nagatomo heading towards them. Nagatomo was tucking his cellphone away into his cassock. "I just got off the phone with Father Fujimoto, he wants us all to meet him at the Toji Temple as soon as possible. Maruta already has a car waiting for us."

"Then we better get moving." Kyoudo said seriously. "Hopefully Father Fujimoto has some clue on how to find Rin." 

* * *

_(20 minutes later)_

They arrived at the temple grounds and made their way to the temple's famed five-storied pagoda. Normally the temple grounds would have a decent amount of visitors, from tourists to monks and priests to the local worshipper, but this early in the morning there was barely a soul in sight. Making it easy to spot Shiro and a certain flamboyant school head master standing in front of the famed structure.

Not that Mephisto would be hard to spot even if it _was_ crowded… it was hard to hide that ridiculous outfit after all…

"Good morning!" Mephisto greeted grandly, completely ignoring the serious atmosphere. "How are you all doing this _beautiful_ spring day?" Inhaled deeply and gestured towards the blossoming trees on the well-kept grounds, "Aren't the cherry blossoms just magnificent this year! You can feel the vibrancy of new beginnings in the air—!"

"Cut the crap and lets get down to business, Mephisto!" Shiro snapped having reached his limits with the demon's antics.

"Touchy…" Mephisto tutted, wagging his finger at the Paladin as if he was scolding a child. "That temper of yours is really going to get the better of you one of these days." Shiro just shot him a glare that promised a lot of pain within the foreseeable future for the demon if he did not get serious. "But very well," He turned and addressed the exorcists in front of him. "I have been made aware of the situation by our dear Shiro here and it seems that an outcome that we had not foreseen has come to pass…" He paused for his own dramatic effect. "It seems that my dear youngest brother has escaped and disappeared without much of a trace through his own devices. But I'm sure you all already knew that." He grinned showing off his elongated canines. "And as I'm _sure_ you all know very well that we cannot simply go beyond the local authorities at Southern True Cross and report him missing—if we even choose to do so, which I highly do not advise—as we should avoid any and all actions that could draw any unwanted attention towards our dear sweet Rin-chan existence…"

"But wouldn't it be easier if we made the police aware that Rin is missing?" Maruta asked uncertainly.

Shiro stepped forward and sighed. "As much as I want to go the police and get as much manpower possible to help us locate Rin, that's not an option for us." The shorter priests looked like he was about to protests but Shiro cut him off before he could. "I'm not willing to take the chance that someone from the Vatican might start questioning why it is that our monastery is trying to find this one kid. Hell, as far as they know Rin doesn't even exist and very few people know that Yukio has a brother or that he is my son." He gestured towards the teen. "Most are under the assumption that Yukio is a kid I found and decided to train, much like how I did with Shura."

Understanding dawned upon the other exorcists. It seemed as if the number of able bodies they had that they could trust to look for Rin and not kill him on sight or report him were all present.

"And so gentlemen… that brings us to our current dilemma." Mephisto cut in to regain everyone's attention. "We are severely limited on resources to find Rin, you all must continue your duties as exorcists of the Order of the True Cross as to not arise suspicion." He glanced at Yukio and stared pointedly. "And that means that a certain newly minted Middle First Class exorcist present must continue on his education and new duties as a teacher as if nothing has happened."

Yukio barely contained a very childish urge to blow a raspberry at the demon headmaster.

"But surely there is something that you can do Lord Mephisto?!" Izumi cried out. "Isn't there someway that you can track Rin, some sort of demon spell or some—"

Mephisto held up his hand to stop Izumi from continuing. "Normally, yes, however… because Rin-kin's demon heart is still sealed there is no way for me to track him other than a very simple spell that can track his scent and aura. Unless, Rin uses enough of his newly discovered powers for me to sense him there is no way to find him other than simply looking and asking anyone—human and demon—if they have spotted him."

The exorcists shared uneasy looks with each other, especially at the unspoken implications.

If Mephisto would only be able to sense Rin if he used his flames then other demons would be sure to be able to do the same. Especially, now that all of Gehenna was aware of his existence every demon in the world was bound to be on the lookout for Rin, if they weren't already before. And knowing Rin, it was only a matter of time before he used his flames. The clock was ticking down and every second counted.

"Now don't look so glum gentlemen!" Mephisto broke them out of their worry with his own cheerful tone. "I did say that there was still a tracking spell that I could do and now that the rain has finished we stand a much better chance of finding our dear sweet little Rin-chan. His scent is bound to turn up."

"Then I suggest you quit wasting time and just do it already! We're short on time as it is!" Shiro growled more than irritated that the white clad demon was treating this all like one of his anime dramas.

"Very well, but it wouldn't kill you to say please." Mephisto took out his umbrella and started forming a pentagram in the air in front of him. " _Eins, Zwei, Drei!"_

 _ **POOF!**_

A puff of purple smoke revealed five brightly colored wooden cuckoo clock birds flapping in front of everyone.

"I assume you have something of Rin's to help them get a key on his presence…?"

Shiro pulled out a bloody piece of cloth. "Here, this has his blood on it. Will that work?"

Mephisto grinned happily. "Yes! That is absolutely perfect, nothing carries more information about a person than their blood!" He took the cloth and held it up to the birds one by one, as if they could smell, even though the birds did nothing but continue flapping in the air. "Now then, off you go my little birdies! Spread out and report back before sunset."

The wooden birds all seemed to bow to Mephisto before flying off in different directions while the group on the ground could only stare in disbelief.

"Those birds will search the city by air, they have his scent but their range is only limited to about five kilometers so it possible for them to miss something which is why I recommend we search by foot as well."

Shiro nodded. "Alright, lets each take some part of the city and meet back here before sunset. If you find him try to get him to stay where you are and not run. I don't know what Rin is thinking right now but if he did run off on his own he is probably scared and angry so lets try to get him to calm down before any of us try to bring him back."

"Sir?"

"Yes, Nagatomo."

"If he starts asking questions… should we—?"

"No." Shiro cut him off.

"But—"

"Not until we get him to one of the safe houses." Shiro explained. "It's too risky to explain everything to him out in the open. If he does ask questions try to give as little information as possible. We can't risk anyone overhearing in case they're possessed by demons, affiliated with the Vatican or exorcists in general. Kyoto had some of the largest branches of non-True Cross exorcists operating here and I don't want to risk the chance of Rin running into any one of them."

The exorcists all nodded, understanding Shiro's logic on the situation. Soon the matter on whom would search which sections of the city were decided and they were off.

Yukio stayed behind for just a bit and turned to look at his father.

He had never seen Shiro look so… _old_

It seemed as if he had aged ten years in just a few hours, the lines on his face were more pronounced and there were bags under his eyes. He most likely has not had a moments rest in nearly 24 hours and having faced a barrage of middle to high level demons practically on his own was no easy feat, even for someone as highly ranked as Shiro. Yukio could not help but also worry for him.

"Tou-san…"

"Yes, Yukio."

"We'll find him… right?" The fifteen year old asked.

Shiro stared into the younger twin's eyes and gave him a soft smile. "We will, don't worry. We will find that knuckleheaded brother of yours and make sure he is safe."

The tenseness in Yukio's shoulders relaxed a bit from that small reassurance from his adoptive parent. With a final nod Yukio turned and started to make his way out of the Toji grounds and towards the western area of Kyoto. They would find his brother and everything would be all right.

Shiro watched as Yukio disappeared from his sight, he made sure that he was long gone before he finally let his guard down and Mephisto could see the deep frown on his face and the worry in his eyes.

Mephisto's voice snapped Shiro away from his thoughts. "You know… I can't help but wonder… what would happen if we can't find our dear Rin-chan." He watched the Paladin from the corner of his eyes seeing his form tense.

"We _will_ find him."

"If you say so." Mephisto waved off the Paladin's tone off flippantly. "But it is best to be prepared for the worst."

" _Where do you think you're going!?"_

Mephisto stopped and looked back at Shiro over his shoulder. "Why, back to the Academy of course!" He said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The new school year is almost upon us and as headmaster I have a duty to my precious students to make sure that everything is ready for their education."

Shiro opened his mouth to shout at the demon but Mephisto cut him off before he could retort. "Besides, I have done all that I can at the moment to help find my troublesome younger brother. There is nothing more that I can do other than have my little toys try to catch his scent. Of course…" he paused rubbing his chin as if he were deeply pondering something. "It would be easier if we had the kouma sword with us…"

"Rin has it." Shiro replied curtly.

"Such pity. It would have been a _huge_ help in locating him, after all it does contain his other half and as the saying goes _like calls to like._ Oh well…" With a flashy swish of his white coat Mephisto made his way to a door and inserted a rather gaudy looking key into the keyhole. "I will take my leave now. The moment my little birdies find anything they will return to me and then I will call you with their findings. Until then! _Auf Wiedersehen!"_

With that Mephisto took his leave and shut the door behind him. Leaving the Paladin staring at the closed door in contemplation.

The Paladin was torn between not wanting to listen to the demon's words and heading his advice and preparing for the worst. As loathe, as he was to admit it, Mephisto's plan was the best current course of action to take. They needed to be prepared for the worst.

 _HE_ needed to be prepared for the possibility that the child he had raised for fifteen years could be stolen from them or the more likely scenario that they are going to be dealing with a **very** pissed off teenager.

Shiro let out a sigh at that thought. He was already mentally preparing himself and getting both his head and heart ready for what is sure to be a very difficult conversation. If there was one to begin with…

He shook his head to clear his thoughts as he looked up at the brightening sky. Now was not the time to be worrying about that. He'll deal with it when the time comes. Right now though he needed to focus on finding his eldest as quickly as possible.

He took a step forward and was shocked as a pigeon flew in front of him, close enough that he could feel the tip of its wing brush his nose. He followed it with his eyes as it disappeared into the brightening horizon.

' _Rin… please be safe.'_

* * *

"Okay kid, this is as far as I can take you."

They were at a truck loading dock on the outskirts of a small village, the last stop on Toyama Sato's route.

Rin hopped out of the passenger side and looked around at his new surroundings. He couldn't help but feel as if he had gone back in time a bit. The air was still cold but he could see signs of spring were still all around, even with the dimming orange sky everything was sprouting and green. Old-styled houses forming a little village stood in front of the setting sun creating an image taken straight out of a painting. He did his best to ignore the small strange looking creatures in the field on the other side of the road.

He hoisted his bag over his shoulder. "Thanks for the ride old man."

"Sure thing kid, you take care of yourself."

Even though they had only known each other for a short time Rin was going to miss the old driver. He had not met that many adults in his lifetime that were willing to listen to his side of the story for once.

"Same to you."

Tomaya got ready to head out once more but something made him pause. "You have any idea where you going now?"

Rin shook his head and answered honestly. "Not a clue."

Tomaya stared at the teen that he had driven with for the past day and then pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it at the unsuspecting teen. Rin barely caught it and fumbled with it for a second.

"What the hell!"

"It ain't much but it will at least get you a couple of hot meals."

"Wha—" Rin opened his palm to see what had been thrown at him and discovered that it was a small role of bills.

"There's a town a bit a ways from here." Rin looked back up as Sato got back in his truck, and slammed the door shut; he poked his head out the window and pointed behind Rin. "Follow that road about twenty kilometers and you'll reach it. Tourism has been booming there these last couple of years, if you're looking for a place to rest or start over that might be a good place to try."

Rin swallowed as he took it all in, he turned back just as the truck engine was revving back up. "Thank-you… for everything."

Tomaya smiled kindly back. "Don't mention it. You seem like a good kid, and I wish you the best." With a small wave he beckoned the runaway good-bye. "Take care kid."

"You too, old man." Rin smiled and waved good-bye back watching as the truck rumbled down the road until he could no longer see it.

Once the truck had disappeared Rin's smile dropped, as he now had to focus on his new problem of where to go now but then he remembered what the driver had said a few moments ago.

"A town huh…?" Rin looked up the road that the driver had pointed him towards. There was a sign that did in fact say that it was roughly a few of hours of walking distance from where he currently was.

He sighed and adjusted his bag into a more comfortable position and started walking. "Might as well while there's still some light out." With any luck he would be there before it got too late. 

_Inari Fox Alley 20km Northwest_

* * *

 _ **All righty!**_

 _ **Rin is off to his new adventure! What's going to happen? Who knows! But thank you all for sticking around this long. I know that these chapters are pretty long and that there hasn't been that much action recently but I want there to be plenty of time for the characters to digest the situation and reflect on how this all happened. I hope that this is at least interesting for you guys to read.**_

 _ **But you got to see Yukio in this, yay! He's actually a bit of challenge to write just because he is a teenager and he has his father, whom he looks up to, still around to guide him so Yukio's descent into madness won't be as obvious as in the manga**_ **(speaking of which—HFS! The latest chapter was quite a ride** _ **). But at the same time he has had to lie to his own brother for so long and keep him in the dark to the point that Yukio patronizes his brother a lot and everyone seems to think that Rin would not be able to handle the truth… but as was shown in this chapter and will be explored more, it is not the truth that hurt Rin but rather absence of it from his whole life that hurts.**_

 _ **Mephisto is fun to write because I see a little bit of myself in him in that we both just love to fuck with people. And you can tell he is just loving this because, sure nothing went as planned but that's what make this whole situation so much fun for him. Mephisto loves chaos and he loves free will and to have his younger brother showcase that in such a manner is giving Mephisto a sugar high because, just like his favorite anime and manga, he can't completely predict what will happen next and so he has to set up his chessboard all over again.**_

 _ **And Shiro… I feel for him but at the same time I am exposing, and making him realize what a shitty decision it was for him to keep Rin in the dark for so long. But more of that will soon come. Can't give too much away now can I.**_

 _ **Tell me what you think, what you like what you don't like and leave a review!**_

 _ **Seriously, reviews just make my day**_

 _ **On to the next chapter!**_

 _ **Also, I'm still looking for a beta-reader. Had someone who was interested but they never got back to me, so if there is anyone out there who would like to beta for this story please let me know**_ **.**


	4. IMPORTANT

**I know that it has been a while since I have updated. But the next chapter has been written up and sent to my new Beta-Reader OneWhoCharms.**

 **But that is not the reason why I have not updated in a while. Right now, many of you know or have heard about Hurricane Irma heading towards Florida. I am from Southwest Florida. Originally, when the storm was still heading towards the east coast my family and I were going to just bunker down and ride out the storm. That all changed when the storm shifted to the west and put us in danger of 10-15 ft storm surges. I live close to the coast so staying was no longer an option.**

 **This storm is** ** _SERIOUS._** **Born and raised in Florida my whole life. This storm is not anything to fuck around with.**

 **My family and I have since evacuated out of Florida and headed north to stay with some friends until it is safe to head back down and assess the damage left by the storm.**

 **I will be updating this story but it may not be for a while. I will be busy trying to help rebuild and making sure that my friends and family are all safe and have what they need.**

 **Some of you may live in Florida.**

 **Please be careful. Please stay safe.**

 **I will change this post once we are in the all clear.**

 _ **Edit: Family is now safe and sound. We are back home and have been for several days now. Still without power but we have a generator and linemen are working as hard as they can to get power restored throughout the state. Next chapter will be up shortly. Hopefully within a week.**_

 ** _Thank you to everyone for your concerns and prayers they really meant a lot. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. :)_**


	5. To Breathe Anew

_**Hello everyone! I am back with a nice and VERY long chapter for you all. But first…**_

 _ **A big**_ _ **thank-you**_ _ **to all my readers. Thank you for being so patient and understanding. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. They really meant a lot to me and got me to smile even when Hurricane Irma was passing through my hometown and I had no idea what to expect when we got back.**_

 _ **Things are slowly getting back to normal, but it will be a process and it is going to take a long time to fix all the damage. Power is still out in a lot of places but emergency services are working around the clock to get everything back online. Some places got hit REALLY bad but recovery takes time.**_

 _ **Not sure when the next update will be but I just hope that this chapter can tide you guys over until I have the next one up ready to go. So I hope you enjoy and that you don't mind the length.**_

 _ **A special thanks to my wonderful new beta-reader**_ **OneWhoCharms.** _ **Without whom this chapter would be a lot shittier.**_

* * *

 **Down the Fox Hole**

 **Chapter 3**

 **To Breathe Anew**

" _We attain freedom as we let go of whatever does not reflect our magnificence. A bird cannot fly high or far with a stone tied to its back. But release the impediment, and we are free to soar to unprecedented heights."_

 **– _Alan Cohen_**

* * *

 _Bright_

Is the first word that comes to mind as Rin walked down the main street of the town he was in and, apparently, they had a huge thing for foxes. Everything he could see and hear seemed to be themed with a fox motif.

' _Well at least the name makes a lot more sense.'_ He thought ruefully as he took in all the sights. To be honest when he first heard the name he thought it sounded like some sort of strip club or something…

But now that he was actually here he couldn't help but be amazed.

For a while he forgot everything that had occurred just a day ago and just took in the sights like any other tourist, and with the sun now long gone it was now dark, everything was lit up with incredible and whimsical neon lights. He felt a little dizzy turning here and there trying to see everything. The happy and carefree expressions on everyone's faces was infectious that soon had a smile blooming on his face. Sure he was a runaway, and had no place for the night, and he had no clue what to do next… but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the sights a little…

The next thing he noticed was the smells.

 _Oh God, the smells!_

Rin could feel himself drooling as his nose was assaulted with all sort of delicious scents and his ears, even over all of the clamor of happy tourists, could pick up the sound of grilling and sizzling meat. That's when his stomach let loose the biggest roar of hunger ever. Lunch seemed like forever ago and even that had just been a few rice balls and some day old karage chicken from the gas station they had stopped at.

He made his way out of the middle of the street traffic and to the side of one of the venues that was selling the delicious smelling food. Once he was out of the way of walking tourists and locals he placed his bag off of his shoulder, taking a moment to rub it—it had started getting a bit sore—and reached into his pocket to take out the small roll of bills that the truck driver who had given him a ride earlier had given him. Rin counted how much there was.

"It's not much but it's definitely enough for few decent meals." Rin smiled and sent a small prayer of thanks towards the old driver.

Maybe, for once, someone up there was finally granting him a small bit of good luck—

 _BAM!_

Rin suddenly found himself on the ground with someone shouting, _"Watch it asshole!"_ and running off into the crowd. Rin growled, got up off the ground and was about to shout back that _he_ was the asshole who ran into _him_ and had a very colorful suggestion about what he could do with himself when another person knocked him back on the ground with a snide, _"Move it jackass!"_

Rin was just about be ready beat someone's ass to into the concrete when he noticed something…

His money was gone.

And so was his bag!

 _He had been ROBBED!_

Rin stood there for a couple of seconds, completely dumbfounded at the fact that he had just been robbed. _Seriously!?_ He had JUST gotten here! He shook his head and snapped out of his shock before taking off into the crowd in the same general direction that those assholes punks had gone.

As he ran through the crowd people were throwing him dirty looks as he kept bumping into them while trying to run against the flow of the crowd. This may not be the first time that Rin has had to give chase through a crowd. _Hell!_ It would even be the tenth or seventeenth time he's done it (Rin had plenty of experience chasing down all kinds of jerk-offs whose idea of fun ranged from stealing and harassing helpless old people to torturing stray animals or picking on little kids—just so that he could give them the ass-kicking that they more than deserved). This was just like all those times but this time he was at a disadvantage. Back home he knew the layout of the city and all of the back streets and alley-ways; he had grown up running around on those streets—much to Shiro's dismay since trouble seemed to gravitate towards his eldest, no matter what part of the city he as in—but here he was pretty much running around blind!

It was only because Rin was naturally very fast and gifted with quick reflexes that allowed him to dodge and weave the crowd that he was able to catch a glimpse here and there of his bag and the black hoodie of the punk who had jacked him.

' _There you are!'_

Rin saw them turn a corner just up ahead.

Rin rounded the same corner and stumbled to a stop.

It was a dead end!

"What the hell!"

Rin entered the alleyway, trying to find any nook or cranny that could have been used by the thieves to hide. A side door, crack between buildings— _anything!_

They had gotten away.

Rin had been jumped by a couple of punk-ass thieves and they got him good. They had taken everything that he owned other than the clothes on his back. The fifteen year old let out an agitated groan and ran his hands through his hair in agitation. "Things could _not_ get any worse…"

Right when he said that it started to drizzle before thunder boomed and it soon turned into a downpour.

" _GOD DAMNIT!"_

* * *

It was official.

Today officially _sucked!_

It wasn't enough that in just twenty-four hours his world had been completely turned upside down by the fact that he was apparently the Goddamn Anti-Christ, being chased and attacked by—apparently real—fucking demons, being told that his whole life has basically been a lie, running away, being miles from everything that he has ever known, tired, hungry and now slowly being soaked to the bone (again) at night ( _again)_ right after being robbed clean was the last straw for Rin's frayed nerves.

Running through the quickly emptying streets as the shops close for the night Rin tried to find someplace where he could seek shelter for the night. Without any money or anything of value on him it looked like he would pretty much be sleeping out on the streets.

Unless he was willing to pimp himself out but Rin was not about to be someone's bitch.

 _ **BOOM!**_

Rin flinched as thunder rolled across the sky and lightening flashed, briefly illuminating everything in an eerie light. Gone were the previously gay sights, sounds, and atmosphere. Everything looked washed out of any color and oppressive. A complete one-eighty of what it was just a few moments ago. Night had come and the storm was now in full swing, driving everyone inside and shops to close for the night.

Sighing while momentarily seeing shelter underneath a small alcove, the teen pushed his wet bangs away from his face to try and get a better look at where he was.

He let out a miserable groan.

And…to top off the shittiest day ever, besides being hungry, broke, and wet he was also completely and utterly lost!

Rin had no idea where he was since he hadn't been paying much attention where he was going when he had been chasing the punks that had taken his stuff earlier. He had tried backtracking as best as he could but somehow he had gotten himself even more lost and in a completely different section of the town from where he had started. With everything closed down and all the people gone, yes, it was easier to move around but he couldn't recognize anything either.

A bit of wind started to blow making Rin shiver, his wet clothes provided no protection against the chill.

Letting out a sigh Rin decided on his next course of action. "Gotta get out this rain before I freeze to death."

The question was where though…?

He could try finding a parked car that was left open and seek shelter there (he's done that before) but there weren't any cars in the street, and he wasn't too keen with the idea of breaking and entering—too much of a risk if he got caught and ended up with the authorities. He didn't need to be a fugitive on top of a runaway since he was sure that his da—Father Fujimoto would have reported him missing by now for sure.

So where…?

As Rin tried to think of somewhere where he could seek refuge without drawing any attention, another gust of wind blew causing more shivers to rack through his frame. Rin hugged himself to try and preserve what little body heat he could and ducked into a nearby alley; at the very least he was out of the wind. He was still getting poured on but the wind was no longer threatening to give him hypothermia.

Leaning against the brick wall of the building Rin looked across from him to the opposite walls, just gazing at the old and peeling posters and newer advertisements. That's when he noticed one for a temple shrine…

' _A shrine…?'_

That's it!

Rin practically ripped the poster off the wall. It was an old promotional poster from a past New Year beckoning worshippers to welcome in the New Year with prayers from the shrine. There was even a small map on it that didn't seem too difficult to decipher as well.

Pushing wet bangs back in order to look around better, Rin spotted a city map by a bus terminal and ran across the street towards it, ignoring how his feet splashed and sloshed through puddles. The dark hair teen didn't care. Not when there was a small hope of finding shelter. He glanced at the poster in his hand and then looked back up at the terminal map tracing his finger down the streets. He placed the poster on the plexi-glass trying to see where the two maps matched up. Unlike Southern True Cross City or Tokyo, this town wasn't nearly as large so it was pretty easy to find where the shrine was and how far it was from his current location.

' _Good, it's not that far.'_ Rin thought happily to himself. At the very least he could get out of the rain.

It looked to only be about five blocks away. Another flash of lightening accompanied by another explosion of thunder made Rin slightly flinch before he took one last look to make sure he knew where he was going and took off into the rain. He was already soaked to the bone so there was no point in slowing down to avoid splashing up more water. The faster he got to the shrine the faster he would have some sort of shelter out of the storm.

About ten minutes later the shrine was just up ahead, sitting on top of a small hillside, surrounded by trees, and a battered, aged, red tori stood at the stone cobbled entrance way with two fox statures placed beside to guard it. The closer that Rin got the more details he was able to make out about the shrine, it was the size of a small house, and it looked like it had not had many visitors recently but that was fine by him.

It just meant less of a chance of anyone finding him or chasing him away.

Climbing up the steps Rin tried opening the doors only to find them locked. He bit his lip contemplating his next course of action. A flash of lightening gave him the push he needed to break open the lock on the door and slide it open and rush inside, slamming the door shut behind him. He let out a sigh of relief at finally being out of the elements. Walking slowly into the dark room, Rin used the light from the lightening flashes to find the spot where visitors were to leave their shoes. He took off his shoes and socks before stepping further into the shrine. It was a little bigger on the inside than it had looked on the outside but still pretty small, about only a fifth of the size of the church back the monastery. Still, it had all the typical aspects of any other shrine, if not a bit dusty and worn down, if the grime on Rin's bare feet were ay indications, so at least he didn't really have to worry about someone finding him here for now. He edged himself along the walls hoping to find a light switch… or at least a lantern. The only reason Rin wasn't completely tripping over himself was because the storm outside would sporadically illuminate inside the shrine through the small windows at top. That was how the soaked teen was about to see there was still some wood and flint stones next to the fire pit in the center of the room that was typically used to burn prayers and such.

Rin placed a few logs into the pit and got to work with the stones. It took him a bit of fumbling and several swears that he just _knew_ you weren't supposed to say at shrines and temples (it was a bit of a challenge to kight a fire when you couldn't really _see_ what you were doing) but pretty soon Rin was able to get a small fire going to warm himself up. He rubbed his hands together and held them in front of the small flames sighing in relief as the heat of the fire brought feeling back to his numb fingertips. He threw in another log to build the fire a bit more and started stripping off his wet clothes and after wringing out as much water as he could he laid them out to—hopefully—dry by morning. Of course, that pretty much left him in his boxers but Rin was beyond caring at this point… he was out of the storm and he had a heat source.

Of course his stomach had to remind him at that moment that he was still starving.

But at least he had shelter for now so Rin let out a sigh, choosing instead to focus on looking around his temporary shelter instead of his empty and demanding stomach.

There was not much inside. There was a small stone table where people could write down their prayers and there were some mats for prayer and meditation stacked neatly in one of the corners. The only noticeable thing in the small wooden structure was the alter located in the center of the back wall. And now that Rin had a decent light source he could get a good look at it. There was stone carving of a fox with nine tails and two paintings, one on each side, showing two humanoid foxes that seemed to be dancing. The incense that should have been there were long gone and burnt out, and the offerings had long since withered away and hadn't even been cleared out since the last time someone had come to care for this shrine.

Overall, it was a very simple and plain alter, one that had been neglected and all but abandoned.

Rin let out another weary sigh, hugging his knees. "Well… at least I'm not freezing my ass off anymore… but now what?"

Now that he was all alone again there was nothing to distract him from confronting his current dilemma. It was even worst than before, if that was even possible…

Rin shook his head to stop himself from thinking negatively. "I'm tired, might as well try and get some sleep."

He went over and dragged a few of the mats over to the fire and made himself a bed for the night, it wasn't much but it was something. He had even managed to find an old blanket. He wrapped himself in it and laid down on the mats. He paused for second and then slipped his underwear off too, setting them next to his clothes to dry as well. He was now completely naked underneath the sheet but it would save him a very uncomfortable night of sleeping with wet boxers and then having to wear them tomorrow if they were still damp.

Or go commando.

Nope, not gonna happen.

He had already had the shittiest day ever; the teen was going to spare himself the possible chaffing and rash.

Never one to dwell on the negatives Rin instead focued on the feeling of finally being dry and warm—even if he was naked… He felt a little lighter inside just staring at the fire. With the rain pounding outside and the fire going inside, it almost felt cozy and Rin felt himself being lulled into a deep slumber.

It had been a stressful day and a half and even sleeping on a truck hadn't been all that comfortable and he could only get a few light dozes there and there but now.

It didn't take long for Rin to feel drowsy, his eyes growing heavy. Right before he closed his eyes he mumbled a small 'thanks' towards the alter.

Whoever the deity was that this shrine was dedicated to, he was thankful.

* * *

The next morning Rin woke up confused as to where he was… and why he was naked…

Then he remembered.

"Right… I ran away, and then…" He let out a grown and flopped back onto the mats to look at the dusty ceiling. "And then… I got robbed by those assholes."

He was lucky to have found this place, even though he knew it was only temporary and there was a chance of him being discovered eventually. For now, he just wanted to think that he had a place to sleep for the night. But he needed to plan his next move, more precisely something that would involve food.

He got dressed—thankfully his clothes had dried over night—and tidied up a bit, putting everything back where he had found it and cleaning out the ashes from the fire last night.

Just as he was about to put on his shoes he paused and glanced over his shoulder at the alter; starring at it for a few seconds before he crossed the room back towards it. Rin cleared away the old offerings and dusted off the statue as best as he could with an old rag that he found in the corner. Searching his pockets Rin actually found a hundred yen coin—most likely the only money he had to his name. He placed the coin in front of the stone fox, clapped twice, and bowed deeply.

"Thanks for letting me stay in your shrine. I really appreciate it…"

His thanks said, Rin made his way out of the small building. As he closed the door Rin could've sworn that he felt a warm breeze fluttered softly by with a strange but nice smell that he could not place… But just as quickly as it had come it was gone.

Rin shook his head; it was probably just his imagination. Summer was months away and the air was still a bit chilly from a late winter.

Whatever, it probably wasn't important.

' _Let's see if I can't find something to eat…'_

He had a good feeling about today.

* * *

'… _So huuuuunnggggrrryy…'_

Rin looked up towards the sky from his spot on the grass. It was nearly sunset now and he had had no luck what so ever for the past two days trying to find a job or even someone who was willing to trade a few chores for even a little bit of food.

And it was just another piece of evidence that he had shitty luck because all he ever managed to find are just a few scraps here and there in the _garbage_!

Seriously! It was as if the food in this town was so damn tasty that it was all gobbled up and left barely enough for birds to pick off. Finally, the smells that had been permeating the air in the main part of town and the area around it became too much for Rin. So for the sake of his sanity he had wandered near the outskirts of town just so that he wouldn't be tortured with all the food that seemed to surround him from every side. The last thing closest to a meal that he has had had been at a gas station over two days prior when he was still riding shot-gun with that old truck driver.

His stomach let out another loud growl.

Rin let out a disheartened sigh. He didn't want to resort to stealing. It was just not something he was okay with and was something he would do only as a desperate last resort.

Maybe he could forage in the forest…

Despite this being a tourist destination town it was pretty much in the middle of nowhere… there had only been nothing but forest, hills, and low mountains when Rin had been walking here. The only other town that seemed nearby was the small farming community where he had been dropped off at and that too had pretty much been, mostly, farm fields and a few buildings here and there. And as far as Rin could remember the last town he could recall being bigger than a few city blocks had been nearly an hour away from _that._

' _This place really is out in the middle of nowhere…'_ he mused watching the sky start to change colors, _'What a weird place'_. It was a booming tourist trap out in the middle of nowhere. Walking around for a couple of days, trying to find some work, it seemed like at least half of the people here were tourists. And they all came to visit some sort of famous shrine that Rin had never heard of.

Tourists travelling far to visit and pay respects to some old statues really wasn't too surprising since Kyoto was known for its shrines and temples and plenty of tourists from all over Japan—hell! The _world—_ went to Kyoto to visit the temples and shrines.

But it still struck Rin as a little odd that a shrine could be so popular and touristy and even… cartoony?

Weren't shrines supposed to be all sacred and spiritual-ly?

Rin let out another sigh. He was probably just reading too much into it. It wasn't his place to tell locals how to treat their folklore and heritage and this was most likely how many of the local people who lived here made their living anyways.

The teen watched absently as some birds flew overhead in a v-formation and then rose back up to his feet and dusted him self off. There was no point in just lying out here when night would soon be upon him. Maybe if he would get lucky he would be able to beg some food from one of the vendors before they closed…

"Care to say that again old man!"

Rounding the corner on the small path he was on Rin came upon a scene that really made his blood boil.

There was an old man in a brown, black kimono and hakama with a whicker basket on his back filled with groceries being surrounded by a group of four punkish looking teenage boys, maybe a couple of years older than Rin. They were taunting him and pulling at the basket trying to take it away from him but the old man was putting up a fight.

"I want nothing to do with that _parasitic_ place! Now please just let me pass so that I can—"

"So you can what?" One of them with a toothpick in their mouth sneered. "Go back to taking care of that ugly and crippled old shrine? No one worships there anymore."

"Yeah, the new shrine is the official one for this town and for Inari now." Another one added getting up close to blow smoke from the cigarette they were smoking into the man's face, making him cringe from the smell. "So get with the program old timer and start contributing to the town."

One of the punks had managed to get behind the elderly man and get a firm hold of the whicker basket and started pulling with more force. "In fact…" he smiled nastily. "This could be a nice little offering to start with. After all, you're the only one in town who doesn't contribute anything."

"If the town people would stop being such gullible sheep and eating from the hand leading them to slaughter they would stay away from that so called _shrine_ and stop believing that poison!" The old man spat out, trying to make his way through the gang of delinquents only to be pushed back. He did not see the foot that had been stuck out and he found himself falling hard onto the stone path. The palms of his hands began to bleed and the contents of his basket had spilled out and rolled onto the ground as the teens all started laughing at his misfortune.

"Seems like this old man can't seem to keep shit together and now look at him. On the ground and begging for scraps like a fucking dog!"

" _Oof!"_ As the old man tried to rise he was kicked back down. The teens laughed again.

"Useless pieces of old shits like you should just stay on the ground and just die already. Then at least you will finally be of some use… as _fertilizer!"_ The leader of the group, one with a familiar looking red sheath on his back pulled out switchblade. "In fact why don't we start cutting up a few offering for Inari right now." He said, grinning maniacally, fully enjoying the fear that was now in the downed elder's eyes. "Though I'm not sure how much his old, wrinkled ass will be wo—"

 _ **BAM!**_

"Holy Shit!"

"What the FUCK was that?!"

The delinquent was sent sprawling on the grass a couple of meters away and his cronies could only cry out at shock at witnessing their leader suddenly groaning on the ground. They turned to face the culprit to see a rather grungy looking teenage boy standing protectively over their victim and glaring at them with such a ferocity that they instinctively took a step back.

"W-Who the hell are _you?!"_

"Who am I?" Rin repeated, a bit caught off guard at the question. He wasn't used to being asked who he was since whenever he got into fights back at Southern True Cross, he was a bit notorious back there having never lost a fight since he was ten… but he wasn't in True Cross anymore, he had to remind himself. He was in the middle of nowhere. And right now he had some dumbasses to beat the shit out of. "That doesn't matter! What I want to know is why the hell are you _dickwads_ picking on some defenseless old man?!"

"That's none of your fucking business you stupid son of a bitch!" The smoker of the group shouted back.

"That's right!" Another chimed in, "Just mind your own damn business before we have to kick your ass."

"The only ones who are going to get their asses kicked here are you shitheads." Rin growled, fists clenching in anticipation for the world of hurt he was about to deliver.

"You know what boys..."

"Boss!"

"Yoshi, man you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The leader named Yoshi shook off his gang's concerns instead locking eyes with the one who had punched him in the face hard enough that he could feel the bruise already forming and the left side of his face swelling. Like hell he was going to let this homeless looking bastard get the better of him and his gang. "But our friend here isn't going to be for long." He took out his brass knuckles and slipped them on. "Lets teach this mother fucker why you shouldn't mess with us."

The other teens soon followed suit and started to surround Rin, taking out pocketknives and brass knuckles while grinning like a pack of sharks that caught the scent of blood in the water.

Rin, on the other hand, had shifted into a fighting stance, making sure that the old man was a safely behind him as the gang advanced towards them. It was always a bit more complicated when there was someone or something to protect but Rin was alert and ready so when the first punch came towards his way he easily dodged it, grabbed hold of the guy's wrist, shifted his body weight and threw the guy in the air until he landed with a heavy thump groaning on the ground from the impact.

The other punks soon attacked. One of them tried to bring their blade at a downward angle and if Rin was just a little slower the blade would have sunk deep into his shoulder but Rin spun out of range and rammed his fist into the third guy's stomach, knocking the wind out of him, making his eyes bug out and leaving him retching on the ground as he fell to his knees.

With a desperate yell the second knife wielder started slashing around wildly, trying to land a hit. Rin growled as the blade managed to slash through his left sleeve and leave a shallow cut. It didn't really hurt but these were the only clothes he had! He wanted them to last as long as possible.

Ignoring the blood running down his arm Rin charged forward, ducking another wild swing and coming up to land a swift upper cut to knife guy's jaw instantly knocking him out. Just as he turned towards the leader of the group, who had held back and watched in fear as his guys were easily taken out one by one by just one person, something heavy slammed into the back of his head and Rin went down on the ground, his ears ringing. He felt someone hold him down and he turned his head enough to see that it was the first and second guys that he had dealt with. Apparently they had recovered enough to get back in the fight and had even managed to get a decent hit on Rin.

"What ya want to do with him boss?" One of the teens holding Rin asked, using all his strength to keep Rin down as he struggled to get both boys off of him.

The leader smirked down at Rin struggling to get loose. He then kicked Rin from the side, like his head was a soccer ball. Rin could feel that a tooth or two was now loose as he spat out a bit of blood. "Just hold him down there for a second. It's time this piece of shit learns what happens when he messes with Yoshi's gang." The teen thug named Yoshi put his foot on top of the dark-haired teen's head, pushing his face into the dirt. "Once we're done with this dirty peasant we'll take care of that useless old man." Rin felt the pressure on his head leave.

Grunting, Rin turned his head to see the one called Yoshi approach the old man who was still on the ground, witnessing the whole fight. He picked up the poor man by the front of his kimono and shook him violently. "We all have to do our duty right? So why not clean this town up a bit by getting rid of some useless dead-weight? Isn't that right old man?" He lightly slapped the man's face. "You are just nothing but a stupid, useless, worthless waste of space aren't cha?" With each word he landed another slap until the old man had tears running down his face.

Rin watched on from the ground, his vision slightly skewed as one eye was beginning to swell shut. Growing angrier and angrier to the point that he was seeing red and all he could hear was the sound of the gang leader's hand come in contact over and over again with his victim's face.

The two teens were goading and cheering their leader on as he abused the old man, not noticing that their captive on the ground had suddenly stopped moving, or the unnatural chill in the air.

" _Knock it off…"_

One of them stopped and looked down at Rin. "What the hell did you say?"

"I said… knock. _It._ _ **OFF!"**_

The two delinquents holding Rin down loosened their hold in shock as it seemed as if the kid they had pinned to the ground seemed to burst into flames for a quick second.

Rin jerked his right arm forward making the one holding it stumble forward as well. He was caught by surprise as Rin smashed his elbow into his nose— _hard—_ tears and blood started gushing out as he cried out in pain and brought both hands to cradle his, now, broken nose. Not giving up on momentum, Rin rolled over and pinned his second captor underneath him, pulled him up a bit by his shirt and then punched him in the face a couple of times—or more…Rin wasn't really keeping track on how many times he punched the asshole but he knew for sure that the other boy would be feeling this ass-kicking for a while.

 _Three down. One to go…_

Yoshi was stunned to see that one homeless looking kid had completely decimated his gang all on his own. One of them were completely knocked out, another was crying out in pain, his face a bloody mess, and the last guy was groaning on the ground barely conscious with blood coming out of his mouth and two quickly forming black-eyes.

Just what the hell was he? Some sort of demon in human flesh!? How was it possible for one person to dish out this much damage and in such a short amount a time—he had taken two guys out in under thirty seconds! And that was _after_ he had just been stabbed, tackled to the ground, and taken one of his signature kicks to the fucking _face!_

There was just no way this guy was human!

The look in his eyes as he started walking—no! _Stalking_ towards him was enough to make Yoshi almost wet his pants. He couldn't even move, he was completely frozen in fear as the guy, who had single-handedly beaten the crap out of three of the toughest punks in town, came closer and closer.

He took a few steps back only for him to trip back and then started to crawl backwards to get away.

"P-P-Please! D-Don't hurt me!" He begged practically crying. He yelped as he was grabbed by the front of his shirt and brought up to eye level, his feet dangling a few centimeters off the ground.

"Listen here you asshole," Rin said in a low and dangerous tone, one that promised great pain if the gang leader even breathed incorrectly. "I catch you, or anyone of your chicken shit friends here ever bothering this guy again—or anyone else for that matter… and I promise you I will beat your asses to hard no one will ever be able to identify your bodies without a god damn DNA test! Got it!"

"Yes! I swear we won't go near him again!" He cried, tears leaking out of the corner of his eyes.

"Good, now get the fuck out of my sight." Rin let go of the leader's shirt, letting him fall back to the ground looking up at him in fear.

He turned his back and went to go see if the man these delinquents had been harassing was okay. Rin opened his mouth to ask if the man was alright but instead he lout a scream as pain shot through his leg and up his spine. He went down on one knee saw the punk leader, Yoshi, had taken a chance and stabbed a hidden blade into Rin's calf.

He grinned maniacally when he heard Rin scream, a deranged and desperate look in his eyes. "Hahahaha! Take that you fucker! Don't you dare think that you can tell me what to do! I'll fucking kill you!" He slipped the red sheath from his back, taking out the sword scabbard than had been within and swung at Rin like a bat, catching Rin in the chest, and temporarily stunning him. "I'll show you, you worthless piece of shit!" He brought the sword down as hard as he could onto Rin's skull.

A hand suddenly shot forward and grabbed hold of the scabbard before it could make contact. Yoshi couldn't stop himself from gasping in terror as he caught sight of a jagged blue eye with red glowing pupils in the center.

"SHUT UP ALREADY!"

Rin slammed his fist into Yoshi's face hard enough that the noise of bone breaking could be clearly heard. Yoshi's body slammed into a nearby tree, hard enough to even shake a few leaves loose, before slumping to the ground, completely knocked out cold.

Rin glared at his opponent's fallen form, making sure he was staying down this time and looked at the sheathed katana in his hand. The moment he had seen it he had known that these were the same punks that had robbed him the first night in this town. Holding the sword in his hand now he didn't know as much as he _felt_ that this was Kurikara. He could feel a part of him pulsating from within and calling out to him. Like before, Rin was tempted to draw the sword but instead slipped it back into it's red covering and slung it on his back. Just having it there seemed to greatly calm him down, some of Rin's pent up nervous energy slowly seeped out of him. He took a step forward and hissed in pain, feeling warm blood trickle down his leg.

' _Right, that jackass stabbed me…'_ Rin thought ruefully, turning his attention to the knife that was still imbedded into his calf. He let out a hiss of pain as he quickly pulled it out. Blood began to flow freely from the wound. Thankfully, the blade wasn't that long, only about four or five centimeters and the wound wasn't all that big and it seemed to be a clean one but just by the feeling of it Rin could tell he needed to take care of it as soon as possible to avoid having it get infected. He chose to ignore it for now and instead focused on the reason why he had gotten into this mess in the first place.

"Hey, jiji-san. You okay?"

The old man looked up in shock at his savior. The boy who stood before him honestly looked like he could easily fit into the category of 'hooligan' but there was genuine concern and worry in his bright blue eyes as he held out a hand to help him up. "Y-Yes… thank-you…" he said as he took the young man's hand and was soon back up on his feet. He then hissed in pain when he tried to put weight on his left ankle and pain shot through his elderly body. He felt a pair of strong arms steady him.

"You're hurt!" The boy exclaimed and then glowered at the teens lying on the ground, all in various states of unconsciousness. "Those assholes! Do you need any help? Where do you live? Where's the closest hospital?"

The old man held up a hand. Stopping Rin's half panicked babbling.

"I am fine." He said, "It is you that I am worried about." He gestured to Rin's injuries. He really did look pretty bad; there was blood flowing down from his hairline from a cut he had somehow gotten, his cheek was swelling up a bit and he had a black eye forming, not to mention his bloodied knuckles and the stab wound on his leg…

Yeah… Rin had not come out of this fight unscathed. But it wasn't his worst fight…

"Don't worry about me jiji-san. I'm a lot tougher than I look and I've gotten into way worse fights than this." Rin said with a bright grin on his face.

The old man gaped at how casually Rin just said that. "S-Still, it is best to get that leg taken care of." As the old man tried went to go pick up his belongings, that were still scattered about, he slightly grimaced and tried to put as little weight on his injured ankle as possible.

"Here, let me!" Rin did not hesitate to pick up all of the vegetables and place them all back into the whicker basket. "There you go!" He said cheerfully holding up the full basket.

The man smiled gratefully as he took the basket and slipped it back onto his back, "Thank-you—ah! I never did get your name."

"Rin, just call me Rin…"

"Alright, Rin-kun… Thank you again for your assistance." The man bowed making Rin scratch his cheek in embarrassment, a faint blush on his face.

"It was no problem, really. I just can't stand watching others pick on those weaker than them just cause they can. Ya know?"

"Still I am grateful, allow me to at least repay you in some way."

"No, no! It's okay!" Rin tried to wave the old man's gesture away. "I'm just glad your okay."

"I insist," the man said sternly, taking on a stubborn stance now. "Allow me to at least treat you to a meal."

 _Ggggrroooooowwwllllll…_

Of all the times for his stomach to betray him now had to be the time Rin thought bitterly as his face turned red in embarrassment.

"I will take that as a yes then?" The old man chuckled good-naturedly. "Why don't you consider it as payment for helping an old and injured man carry a heavy basket back to his home then?" Rin grinned sheepishly and nodded, accepting the basket and slipping it onto his back before silently offering his shoulder for support to be leaned on. "I don't live too far from here, just up that path to the old Inari Shrine…"

* * *

' _This old geezer was seriously being literal about 'up ''_ thought Rin as he helped to carry the old man—who had lightly bonked him on his head and told him that his name was Oshima Hayato—up the stone steps on a really big (and _steep_ ) hill. At this point though Rin was starting to think that the place where they were going was on top of a small mountain, but that could also be his hunger and aching leg affecting his negativity towards the path.

"Just a little bit further, we are almost as the top."

' _You said that ten minutes ago!'_ Rin mentally shouted but sighed outwardly and continued his climb up, readjusting the strap for the basket.

It turned out that the old man, Oshima Hayato, was right and after a few more minutes of climbing they finally reached the top.

"Damn it… why the hell would anyone build some shrine all the way up here?" Rin gripped out loud rubbing his shoulder.

Oshima just chuckled lightly and nudged Rin's face westward. "Why don't you see for yourself?"

Rin could only gape, as he stood at the top of the stone stairway, with his mouth open at the sight in front of him.

From where he was standing he could see everything! The town actually was in a valley, nestled between small mountains and all around was nothing but forest with a river running through the trees. The low setting sun painted everything in red and purple hues. The bright lights of the town, especially Fox Alley, were beginning to come on and it was a rainbow of lights and colors that stood out in the middle of darkening canvas. Rin was completely transfixed with the view in front of him. He had never seen such a strange contrast of a thriving and bustling little city neatly placed in the middle of forests and mountains, beyond the mountains Rin saw farm fields and rice paddies stretch out as far as he could see.

It truly was…

"Amazing isn't it?" Rin hadn't even noticed Oshima come to stand next to him. Hands clasped behind his back as he also took in the scene before them.

"Yeah…" Rin couldn't help but agree in awe.

"And now you know why nearly a thousand years ago someone built this shrine all the way up here. So that the divine spirit of Inari would be able to watch over and protect her people and the land that they cared for."

Rin could only nod in agreement. If he was going to show respect towards a god he would definitely give them a view like this…

"Come," Oshima beckoned. "It will be dark soon, let's get our injuries taken care of and our bellies full now hmmm?"

Rin's stomach let out another growl, as if it had heard the man mention food and so decided to answer back. Rin looked down so that Oshima would not be able to see his reddening cheeks and fell into step beside him to continue lending him the support the old man needed for his ankle.

Oshima led them towards a large building in the distance. Rin took the time to take in their surroundings. The trees were bare but there were a few signs here and there of the upcoming Spring and new life waiting to blossom, the grass overrun with weeds, the foliage had even started to creep into the stone path they were on that they had even displaced a few of the stones. There were statues of foxes along the path but they seemed… lonely… as if no one had come to see them in years. They reached a large wooden building, which Rin guessed to be the main part of the shrine, and up close it would have been a grand building and sight to behold but years of neglect and abandonment had taken it's toll and now it just reminded Rin of one of those haunted houses from movies he had watched when no one at the monastery was looking or were home. Which now that Rin thought about it… they had not been there as much as he had originally thought…

Before Rin could continue on that train of thought they had walked past the main building and what had once been a magnificent garden and courtyard, and headed towards a much smaller building off to the side and slightly hidden underneath the trees.

"Here we are. Set the basket inside the kitchen." Oshima instructed.

Rin nodded and took off his shoes before entering the little house. It was an old and very traditional house but it was warm inside and it felt homely. Though the exterior was a bit faded it was still well cared for. Inside it was the main living area with a kotatsu in the center and off to the side was a small hallway that, no doubt, led to the bathroom and on the other side of the house was the kitchen. It wasn't much; a small wood burning stove with a counter beside it, an icebox, and some shelves and cabinet lined the top for storage. Overall it was a quant little house but Rin found himself liking it. The general atmosphere was very calming for him.

"Do you need help with anything jiji-san?" Rin asked as he set the basket down in the kitchen.

"Yes, grab that black box up the top shelf to your right." He pointed next to Rin's head. "That's where I keep all of the first aide supplies." He came over and took the box that Rin brought down. "Best take care of these wounds before we get an infection. Wouldn't surprise me if those delinquents never bothered to clean any of their weapons…" Oshima grumbled. He took the box towards the kotatsu, his feet softly padding against the tatami floor, careful not to put too much weight on his bad ankle, placing the boxed on the small table and started take out the contents within before beckoning Rin to join him. "Come boy, let's get your leg taken care of."

Rin obeyed and took a seat next to the old man and did as he was told when instructed to role up his pant leg so that Oshima could clean the wound. Rin let out a hiss of pain when the disinfectant met the wound, but otherwise remained still and let Oshima work. A sudden wave of nostalgia hit Rin.

How many times had he come home a bit roughed up from a fight only to have Yukio tend to his wounds while giving him a light scolding? Rin had been in so many fights that he could now easily tell a serious wound from a superficial one just by how much it hurt, the coloring of the skin, and how much he was bleeding. He had even learned how to take care of the more serious ones as well just by watching Yukio so that he could avoid the argument that always followed with Father Fujimoto about getting into fights.

It all really seemed so long ago… When things hadn't been so complicated and fucked up and he wasn't a—

Rin flinched Oshima pressed a cloth with disinfectant to the cut on his forehead. That's when he noticed the wounds on Oshima's palms. "Hey, jiji-san— _ow!_ "

"My name is Oshima Hayato, show some respect to your elders." Rin hadn't even _seen_ the old man move!

"Okay, okay." Rin pouted, rubbing the spot on his head where he had been whacked. How was it possible for old people to hit harder than delinquents and wannabe yukuza anyways? "But shouldn't we be taking care of you?" Rin pointed at his palms and ankle. "You're still hurt." Rin couldn't help but feel guilty over the fact that the old man before him hadn't managed to escape their little adventure unscathed.

Oshima chuckled lightly, "Thank-you for your concern but your wounds are far worse than mine are." He started to wrap gauze around the cut on Rin's arm before finishing up by putting band aides on Rin's knuckles that had split open. "There that should do it." He then got to work tending to his own wounds with Rin helping to wrap up his palms and ankle. His face bore a slight handprint like red mark where the gang leader, Yoshi, had slapped him.

"Now that we got that care let's see about some dinner shall we?"

Rin grinned and nodded. "I can cook us something if you want?" He offered shyly. Oshima looked at him questioningly. "I know it doesn't look it but I can handle myself in the kitchen, and besides…" Rin pointed at Oshima's wrapped ankle. "It's better to keep off of that right? So it can heal."

After thinking about it for a moment Oshima relented. "Alright—but I will supervise!" He said sternly, "I don't need you to accidently burn the place down as well."

Rin grinned toothily as he made his way into the small kitchen and started to take out what he would need—or what he could find. "Then sit back, watch, and prepare to be amazed jiji-san!"

 _Whack!_

" _Ow!"_

"Respect your elders."

* * *

When Oshima Hayato had first seen the strange young man, who was now currently cleaning the dishes at the sink in the kitchen, he had thought him to be another hoodlum joining his delinquent friends to further torment him. That particular group of youngsters had lately been making his stops into town to clean the smaller shrines a living hell. And quite frankly the boy looked like he belonged right alongside them with his messy hair, torn jeans, greyish white jacket that had more zippers on it than necessary, and fingerless black gloves and general attitude about him. And then the boy had attacked… it had been frightening to witness one boy take down all four teens singlehandedly, all while unarmed and—judging by the way he had practically wolfed down his food—had not been in the best physical shape that he could have been. At first he had even been scared for his life when the dark-haired boy had turned his attention towards him but the look in his eyes had changed completely from when he had been fighting like a demon. They were warm and full of sincerity. Oshima had been on this earth long enough to recognize a person's true intentions just by their eyes. There had been no ill intent in those blue eyes.

He had been even further surprised how gentle the boy was, even with his own list of injuries he was still able to carry his basket of produce and help Oshima up the stone stairs. Yes, the boy was rough around the edges and if he hadn't gotten a chance to know him for Oshima would have just written him off as a good for nothing punk. But this little incident was, once again, a lesson that Oshima kept learning no matter how many years he had on him.

Looks can be deceiving.

' _The thorniest bush can hold the sweetest of fruits and the most beautiful flower can hold nothing more but the foulest of poisons…'_ Oshima couldn't help but chuckle at the dark irony of that.

"All done!" Rin announced cheerfully, drying his hands on a dishtowel as he came to sit beside Oshima. "Dishes are done and the kitchen is clean."

"It certainly is," Oshima nodded in approval at the job that Rin had done. "Although I had thought that I would be the one making diner as a thank-you to you…"

Rin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry… I couldn't help it. You shouldn't be walking around with that ankle and cooking is one of the few things that I'm decent enough at and that I don't screw up."

"You are certainly more than decent." Oshima commented.

And it was true. The meal that Rin had prepared with the few ingredients he had to work with had still been utterly delicious. It was a very simple meal they had eaten but Oshima would swear by the spirit of Buddha himself that his taste buds were exploding with happiness when he took that first bite of the dish the boy had prepared; chopped up onions and carrots mixed with bits of chicken and egg all over white rice with miso soup added in to create a new and very surprising dish.

Rin ducked his head and blushed at the compliment as he came to sit next to Oshima on the outside porch scathing his cheek with his finger. "Thanks, it was nothing really… I'm just glad you like it."

"So where are you from? I have never seen you around town and you don't seem to be one of the tourists that's been coming through by the bus load."

Rin immediately looked away, suddenly very interested with a hole in his jeans above the knee. "Nowhere…" he said quietly.

Oshima looked at Rin, curiosity in his eyes but he did not ask anything else. It was clear that the teen did not want to talk about it and any pressing of the matter would just make him not want to talk even more. Oshima had dealt with his fair share of angsty teenagers and if it was one thing he has learned was that when a teenage boy did not want to talk about something they don't. He had a niggling suspicion about why Rin was in town though.

"Where are you staying?"

Rin bit his lip, "Just at some place I found." It wasn't a lie but it wasn't really an answer.

"How long are you planning on staying?"

Rin shrugged. "Don't really know. If I find a job I'll stay a little longer but if not I guess I'll be gone soon enough." Assuming that anyone would be willing to give him a ride. The next _actual_ town might as well been in another country. They sat in silence for a few more minutes.

It was dark out now. The moon had long since risen and the stars were shining brightly. The crickets and other nocturnal creatures were singing their songs and very faintly they could hear the sounds of the festivities of Fox Alley as the nightlife began. The air was still chilly enough that they could see their breath puff out and maybe there would be frost in the morning, the ground was still a little damp from all the rain from a couple of days ago.

As much as Rin wanted to stay and enjoy the tranquility of the evening a little bit longer he knew he had to go. He grabbed his shoes that were off to the side and started to put them on.

"Thanks for everything jiji-san, but I'm gonna head out now."

Oshima looked at Rin. At the strange young man that had saved him today, he was finishing tying the laces on his dirty white sneakers when Oshima finally spoke up. "You know… if you are looking for some work, I know a place that needs an able bodied person."

Rin paused and perked up, his interest piqued. "Really? What kind of work?" He may not have many skills but a job was job, he could at least try.

"Maintenance mostly, but it would mean a lot of long days and working outside, a bit of gardening, yard work, and cleaning…"

Rin's mood was definitely lightening up. This sounded like a job even _he_ could do and not fuck it up for once!

"You interested?"

"Hell, yeah I'm interested!" Rin cried out happily, a big bright smile on his face. He looked like a little kid that had just been offered a treat. "Where is this place, do you know the guy? How soon would they need me to start?"

Oshima couldn't help but chuckle at the level enthusiasm that the dark-haired teen was exuding. "It's close by, but you may have to go to different parts of town. And they would like you to start as soon as possible if you can."

Rin felt like on cloud nine right now. A job meant money, and money, no matter how little, meant that he could afford to eat! He wouldn't have to beg off the streets or resort to stealing or anything; he could survive and not starve for at least a few more days. Sure he had no idea what he would do after that but he would figure it out when the time came. Right now he was just happy that there was even a chance of him finding a job. Before, he would have never been so happy at the chance to find work… before when finding a job was just a way to get everyone off his back and as a distraction to the fact his life would most likely be nothing but a string of dead end jobs until he died. But now a job meant food, it meant shelter, it meant survival, and it meant the less of a chance of him having to return back ho—to the monastery.

It meant a chance to start over…

Where no one had to know who or what he really was, this really was a clean slate. Well… almost, but him beating up those punks didn't really count since they were picking on a defenseless old man but still! Other than those assholes no one in this town even knew he existed. It was perfect.

Almost _too_ perfect.

Nothing in Rin's life had ever worked out. Not at school, not at the few jobs that he had gotten after Middle School, not even when he tried to just stay out of trouble. Fate just seemed to have it out for him. And now here was this practically godsend chance to start anew with no strings attached…

It was just too suspicious.

"What's the catch?" Rin asked cautiously, coming down from his near euphoric high. Rin was suddenly on guard his street instincts kicking in. "If this job requires for me to do any _'favors'_ then you can just forget it." He spat out. It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to offer such a proposition to Rin, naturally those people quickly found out the hard way not to come near him again or to even try that kind of business anywhere _close_ toRin's territory back in Southern True Cross.

Oshima Hayato was at first taken back at the sudden violent reaction from the teen but then he mentally chided himself. Of course this boy was going to be suspicious. Oshima had already figured out that this boy was a runaway, and most likely had a bit of a troubled past if the way he fought was any indication. As the boy stood there in front of him with a fierce glare in his eyes he could also the a faint trace of hope that reminded Oshima of a stray dog, one that knew the cruelty of the world but still held on to hope that someone would be kind and offer a scrap of food or just a kind pat on the head.

That was what this teen was; a lost, scared, and hurt pup. He reminded the old man of another teenager he knew. And that was how Oshima approached the situation.

"There is no catch," Oshima said calmly, never taking his eyes off the teen and making sure that he remained relaxed. "I swear this by the spirit of Inari."

At first Rin remained tense, searching Oshima's face for any trace of betrayal but the man had seemed sincere in his words and his actions… Rin's shoulders relaxed and his eyes lost their ferocity but never their wariness. "Okay… so who is it that needs help?"

"You are looking at him, in case you haven't figured it out."

Rin looked at Oshima shocked, "What? Why?"

One of Oshima's eyebrows rose at that question. "I already said why, this job requires a lot of manual labor and I need help seeing that I am incapacitated at the moment," he gestured to his injured ankle, "I can't move as freely as I used to."

"No," Rin shook his head. "I mean…" he looked down at the ground, his bangs covering his eyes. "Why would you want someone like me?"

Oshima stared at the young man in front of him for a moment before responding. "Because I know that you are a good person."

Rin opened his mouth to protest but Oshima held up a hand to stop him. "I have been on this earth far longer than you young man," he said. "I know a thing or two about people. And believe me when I say that you re a good person."

Rin looked away. "You don't know that…" he whispered quietly. _'How can I be when I'm a…'_

"I do." The finality in the way that Oshima had said those two words made Rin's head snap back up. "I don't know why or who convinced you that you are a bad person but even having just met you I know that they are dead wrong. If you want proof then I am it. Not many people would willingly risk their own lives from a stranger and expect nothing in return. That is genuine kindness and concern for another living being. It is a rare thing to find these days in this cruel world."

Rin turned his face away, a faint blush on his cheeks. Very few people had ever called him a good person outside of Shiro and a couple of the other monks at the monastery. So having this man that he had just met compliment him in such a way… it gave Rin a strange warmth inside his chest that he could not describe.

"I know that you will work hard and do your best. I cannot promise you much pay but I can promise you a safe place to stay and three meals a day." Rin was about to protest the offer for shelter but again Oshima stopped him. "I know you ran away from home," Rin froze in fear for a second before Oshima continued. "I am not going to report you to the police, so please rest assure that as long as you work hard and honestly I have no intention of notifying any authorities about you. Besides, you look old enough to know how to take care of yourself at least. So what do you say? Would you like to work here at this shrine?" He held out his hand for Rin to take in order to seal the deal.

Rin paused and looked around. It was now completely dark out now with only the moonlight out to help him make head or tails of his surroundings and what he saw, what he _felt…_ it had been a long time since Rin had felt so calm. Even back at the monastery he had felt as though he was suffocating and drowning with everyone's constant disappointment in him, in the failure that he was, and now that he had learned the truth…the feeling of never truly belonging now made far more sense… But here—here Rin felt that he could truly start over again.

Rin looked back the old man that was waiting for his answer. He nodded and gave him a big toothy grin, taking the old shrine keeper's hand in a strong and firm grip. "Alright, old man. Looks like you got yourself a brand new employee!"

Oshima smiled back and chuckled as they shook, "Glad to see that enthusiasm of yours is back. Now why don't you come back inside and I can show you where you'll be sleeping."

The blue-eyed teen nodded and followed his new boss back inside the old house. Right before he closed the sliding door behind him Rin stopped to take in the night air and looked up to the stars and saw a shooting star fly across.

A small and hopeful smile graced his face as he took that shooting star as a sign of good fortune.

' _I have a good feeling about this,'_ he thought as he closed the door behind him but paused at the sudden breeze that suddenly blew past him. It was warm and comforting and Rin knew he had felt it before but merely shrugged it off as his imagination as he looked out into the night once last time and closed the door.

Tomorrow was a new day.

* * *

 _ **HOLY SHIT! This has got to be the longest chapter I have ever written, like ever! I was supposed to be done with this chapter a long, long, LONG time ago but it just kept going and going and going… And then Hurricane Irma happened… -_-**_

 _ **But you amazing readers deserve a long chapter. I can't thank you guys enough for your support. I just hope it wasn't too boring and that the fight scene was good enough to keep you all interested in this story.**_

 _ **I figured that since Rin grew up in an urban setting and is from a poor background and given the way he just seems to attract trouble I'm guessing that Rin would be very familiar with the seedier side of the city and acted like some sort of secret guardian angel whenever he was out at night. It would certainly fit his character to do so.**_

 _ **But I have to say that we have spent enough time establishing the foundations for Rin's character but now it is time to get the ball rolling a bit don't you think?**_

 _ **Please let me know what you all think about this story, please leave a comment/review so that I know you guys are still interested in finding out what happens next.**_

 _ **Spoiler; time skip is coming up and some familiar characters will be getting their turn in the spotlight ;)**_


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